Serving as a major platform for global finance to enter China's reformed economy, Hong Kong's financial district has established its role as one of Asia's most important financial centers. However, conventional banks are among the biggest investors in the causes of climate change, and Hong Kong is no different. Our economy, much of which is situated in the central business district between Central and Admiralty, is inextricably linked to the climate crisis.

While obscured by the manicured gardens and lush green spaces such as Cheung Kong Park, Hong Kong's financial sector is responsible for funding climate unfriendly operations around the world—a paradoxical attempt to 'reconnect with nature'. This is a form of greenwashing—whereby companies (or corporations) capitalise on the growing demand for environmentally-friendly alternatives to convey a false impression about a company's efforts to act responsibly.

While the term greenwashing is commonly associated with products you can purchase, Hong Kong’s business works the same. According to Anthony Hui, the designer of Cheung Kong Park, the construction of these green spaces relies on the importation of trees all the way from Hainan Island (nearly 500km away). This, along with the artificial conditions created to grow these plants, dramatically increases the economic cost and ecological footprint of these small urban parks—a contradiction to the aim of promoting biodiversity.

Similarly, HSBC, China Construction Bank, ICBC and the Agricultural Bank of China represent five of the world's top 38 financiers of the fossil fuel industry. HSBC, specifically, financed US$57,808 of fossil fuel projects between 2016 and 2018. The palm trees lining the entrance of their headquarters is simply reminiscent of their responsibility as one of the largest financiers of palm oil plantations. They ditched these investments in 2017 due to public pressure, but this was only after largely contributing to the (often illegal) destruction of rainforests around the world.

These green spaces are simply façades put up by complex funding mechanisms to distract us from the fact that these financial districts are connected to the destruction of landscapes elsewhere. Not only are these projects costly to develop, but this corporate ideology also allows us to ignore the everyday realities of extractive industries on the ground.

While seemingly removed from us in Hong Kong, the Alberta Tar Sands, also known as one of the "biggest carbon bombs in the world,” is actually funded by both traditional banking and conglomerate corporations in Hong Kong. According to BankTrack, from 2016 to 2018, the thirty largest tar sand production companies globally, received over 71 billion US dollars in funding from the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, and HSBC. Moreover, CK Hutchison Holdings, the conglomerate whose headquarters stands before the previously mentioned Cheung Kong Park, owns Husky Energy—one of Canada’s largest oil producers and one of the biggest players in the tar-sands sector.

The processing of tar sands is one of the most polluting methods for the production of crude oil. In 2008, tar sands operations generated 37.2 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and this number is projected to be 108 megatonnes in 2020. In addition to high carbon emissions, this process pollutes large quantities of water, which often spill into waterways or permeate into the aquifer.

With the toxic waste seeping into waterways, rare and virulent cancers have led to devastating effects on local settler communities and Indigenous peoples alike. Fish have also been found with deformations, tumours, and physical abnormalities. Indigenous peoples make up less than 5% of the global population, but manage 25% of the world’s land surface and support 80% of global biodiversity. As Indigenous communities are at the forefront of climate protection, this ongoing extraction would undermine their efforts in championing a sustainable and liveable environment for all.

So what can we do?

- Financial firms and leaders: DIVEST from fossil fuels and uphold greater transparency.

This means getting rid of stocks, bonds, or funds that promote unethical companies and contribute to environmental degradation, such as the fossil fuel industry. Banks like ING, Crédit Agricole, and Société Générale have ended financing for all tar sands projects, so we know it’s possible.

- Individuals: PRESSURE these financial firms and leaders to divest and demand greater transparency while championing the same social values.

Diana Warner finds it important to accept the current situation before moving forward, but know that we each play a role in fighting for a just future for all.