Project Symbiosis – a collaboration between the BIS Innovation Hub Hong Kong Centre and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) – performed applied technology research, including through developing the Net Emissions Optimiser (NEMO) proof-of-concept (POC), to showcase how novel technologies offer a viable technical pathway to positively impact core stakeholders, including corporations, the financial sector, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), people and the planet by reducing critical information gaps impeding the climate transition. The research was set against the backdrop of challenges unique to the financial sector, where over 95% of emissions fall in the scope 3 category, and the HKMA’s Sustainable Finance Action Agenda.
As demonstrated through the work of Project Symbiosis, AI and related technology approaches have the potential to improve the status quo, whether by improving the speed, breadth and quality of data collection, by generating intelligent environmental impact results that are flexible with respect to a wide range of data availability scenarios, or by generating financeable emission reduction opportunities. Collectively, the explored approaches demonstrate real potential for AI to help bridge knowledge gaps that are currently impeding the provision of needed transition finance.
The learnings of Project Symbiosis, while applied in the context of the use case of scope 3 reporting, are of broader significance, illustrating how AI and related technologies may be applied in a range of contexts such as risk assessment, supply chain management, and reporting automation as its rapid evolution continues.