Facing acute environmental challenges, China has made the greening of its economy a priority and has embraced sustainable finance with a remarkable leap in the green bond market in 2016. Energy efficiency is recognized a key measure to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas and other pollutants. In 2015, financial authorities issued credit guidelines to stimulate banks’ financing of energy efficiency. Under China’s G20 Presidency, G20 nations have adopted a new long term strategy to catalyze energy efficiency and its financing. In this context, five Chinese banks (Industrial Bank, ICBC, Bank of Jiangsu, Agricultural Development Bank of China and Huaxia Bank) have joined the global mobilization of over 115 banks led by UNEP FI and EBRD and promoted by the G20 Energy Efficiency Finance Task Group. This unique initiative was presented to G20 delegates in Beijing in June 2016, sending a strong message to policy makers on the readiness of the banking sector to scale-up energy efficiency financing and the need for supportive and investment-enabling policies.