Australia–China Sustainable Finance Expert Panel

🌏 Join us for an expert panel discussion on Australia–China sustainable finance collaboration, exploring the theme: “Australia and China: Shared Interests and Opportunities for Sustainable Finance as a Vehicle for Growth” 🌱.

Supported by the 🇦🇺 🇨🇳 National Foundation for Australia–China Relations (NFACR) and co-hosted by 🏛️ the University of Western Australia, the University of Queensland, the Australian National University, the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI), and the International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF), this high-level session will explore critical topics such as sustainable finance taxonomies, climate-related financial disclosures, and cross-border investment.

💬 Opening remarks will be delivered by Gary Cowan, CEO of the National Foundation for Australia–China Relations. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Howard Bamsey, Honorary Professor at the School of Regulation & Global Governance, Australian National University.

🔹 Howard Bamsey is an Honorary Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University. He is a member of the boards of the Climate Policy Initiative and Climate Works Centre. He was previously Chair of the Global Water Partnership, Executive Director at the Green Climate Fund, and Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute. He has served as Special Adviser on Sustainable Development to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and as Special Adviser on Green Growth to AusAID. Earlier, he was Australia’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, a Deputy Secretary in the Australian Public Service, and CEO of the Australian Greenhouse Office. He held several appointments at ambassadorial level in the Australian foreign service.

🔹 Mr. Gary Cowan assumed his role as CEO of the National Foundation for Australia China Relations in March 2024. He is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). He served overseas as Australia’s Representative in Taipei from 2018 to 2021 and in earlier roles at Australia’s missions in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tokyo. In Canberra, he served as the First Assistant Secretary of the North and South Asia Division (later the South and Central Asia Division) from 2021 to 2024, managing Australia’s relations with Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, and the countries of South and Central Asia. In earlier roles, he headed Australia’s international climate policy and negotiations team at DFAT and the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and served as a speechwriter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He holds a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the Australia New Zealand School of Government (2010), a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) (1997), and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) (1995) from the University of Sydney. He speaks Mandarin.

🎯 Questions that will be addressed during the discussion:

• How important are sustainable finance taxonomies for the transition to climate-friendly and generally sustainable development in China and Australia?

• What are the key characteristics and themes of the taxonomies developed in Australia and China?

• Do both countries see potential advantage for investments in sustainable activities from interoperability of their taxonomies?  Is this feasible and if so, how might it be achieved?

• More broadly, what is the vision of authorities and investors in both countries for international flow of capital to implement the transition?

• Might global interoperability of national taxonomies be a desirable and/or realistic aspiration?

Meet the Panellists

Our expert panel features leading voices from 💼 policy, 💰 finance, and 🎓 academia:

🔹 Penny Sirault leads the Sustainable Finance Branch in the Australian Government’s Department of the Treasury. Leveraging private sector investment and creating interoperable frameworks is a key part of Australia’s pathway to net zero.  Penny’s team leads implementation of a range of initiatives to reduce barriers to investment in sustainable activities, including disclosure, labelling, taxonomy, transition planning guidance and data improvements.  Over her career in the Australian Public Service, Penny has led reforms to superannuation, insurance, industry and energy policy. She is the former Chair of the global Energy Efficiency Hub, having led Australian programs focused on improving household energy performance.

🔹 Yao Wang, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor. Director General of the International Institute of Green Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE). Director of the Dual Carbon and Finance Research Center at CUFE - Beijing Bank. The Institute of Finance and Economics and the Beijing Finance Research Base, researcher. Professor Wang holds the position of Deputy Secretary-General at the Green Finance Committee of the China Finance Society and is an advisor to the Green Development Committee of the Securities Association of China. Her international affiliations include being a researcher at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, an expert on the Advisory Committee for the Sustainable Finance Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford, and a consultant for the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.

🔹 Purdie Bowden, Purdie is an executive at ASFI leading the Policy and Blended Finance programs which work across the financial system to unlock more capital for climate and sustainability in Australia and the region. Purdie has extensive experience in climate finance and sustainable finance policy and programs and deep networks across the domestic and international climate ecosystem.

With a background as Australia’s lead climate finance negotiator in the UNFCCC, and experience designing and implementing blended finance vehicles for the Australian Government, Purdie brings a strong understanding of the international, regional and domestic policy environment on climate and sustainable finance and the ability to translate between public and private sectors. 

Purdie began her career as an energy resources lawyer at King and Wood Mallesons. She holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Laws (Hon), and Master of Environment.

🔹 PC. Chan, the CEO of HKQAA. Over the past 15 years, he has been advocating various innovative business and technical projects to promote sustainability and ESG. In 2016, he led the HKQAA technical team to develop the first Green Finance Certification Scheme in the region which has been well received in the financial market. 

He is a professional consultant in management systems. In past three decades, he had accumulated extensive consulting, auditing and training experience in quality, asset management, crisis management, ESG, climate financial risk and green and sustainable finance. His professional experience covers several hundred local and multi-international leading organizations in Hong Kong, China Mainland, Philippines, Malaysia and Mexico. They include Huawei Technology, Canon, Seiko, Ricoh, Matsushita, Konica Minolta Hong Kong, Fuji Xerox Hong Kong, Prenetics, MTR Corporation, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, China Mobile, China Telecom, The Hongkong Electric, CLP Power Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Airways, Airport Authority and Hospital Authority of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Police, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Drainage Services Department and Department of Heath of Hong Kong SAR Government, etc.

🎟️ Reserve Your Spot

Join us for an engaging panel discussion exploring how collaboration can drive climate-aligned financial systems. Whether you’re a finance professional, policymaker, researcher, or sustainability advocate, this session offers timely insights and actionable perspectives.

🤝 You can join us in person at ANU or online via Zoom—please select your preferred attendance option when registering.

☕ Light refreshments will be served during registration from 5:00–5:30pm, with the panel discussion beginning promptly at 5:30pm.