Follow us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • AppStore
  • RSS
Azernews.Az
Monday March 8 2021
  • Latest
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel
Home
  • Home
  • Nation
  • World
  • Business
  • Oil & Gas
  • Armenian Aggression
  • Nagorno-karabakh conflict
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
  • Healthcare
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Travel

A low-carbon belt and road

29 March 2019 15:13 (UTC+04:00)
18 517

By Ma Jun and Simon Zadek

BEIJING – Discussions about climate action nowadays often focus on the largest past and current emitters. But, if one looks to the future, the biggest climate risks and opportunities lie in the more than 60 countries that have signed up to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The BRI, which China launched in 2013, is focused primarily on mobilizing capital for infrastructure investments and improving connectivity among participating economies, most of which are still relatively low-income developing countries. But while it is hoped that the BRI will spur a sharp acceleration in GDP growth and development across these economies, infrastructure and other investments associated with the initiative could also have profound environmental and climate consequences.

As it stands, Belt and Road countries, not including China, account for about 18% of global GDP and 26% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In the coming two decades, however, BRI countries’ GDP average growth rate is expected to be twice that of the OECD, and investments in BRI countries are likely to comprise more than half of total investment worldwide. In the worst-case scenario, the BRI countries could account for over half of global CO2 emissions by 2050.

That possibility – set out in a forthcoming study that we co-authored – assumes that BRI economies stick to their current carbon-intensity trajectory, while the rest of the world reduces its emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement. In other words, if not managed in a climate-conscious way, development in the BRI countries would undercut efforts to meet the world’s climate goals.

This is a risk that needs to be taken seriously. Though many global investors are becoming more sensitized to climate risks, and thus less attracted to carbon-intensive assets overall, BRI infrastructure projects are likely to be largely exempt from these pressures. After all, most BRI countries lack carbon-related obligations or incentives, including carbon-pricing systems that would show investors the shadow price of carbon-intensive assets. Moreover, these countries hold many of their carbon-intensive assets on public balance sheets, which are less likely to become “stranded assets.”

In order to ensure that development in the BRI countries does not undermine the global climate agenda, meaningful steps must be taken to reduce substantially the carbon footprint of new investments in these economies. The window for action is narrow: investment decisions made in the coming few years will determine the carbon intensity of critical infrastructure and major real-estate assets that will operate for decades.

By linking policy, finance, and the international community’s expertise and technological resources, it is possible to lay the groundwork for low-carbon development in the BRI economies. To that end, three focused and interconnected actions should be pursued.

First, global investors must be convinced to adopt green principles for investments in the BRI region. Such an effort could include promoting the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road, introduced by China’s Green Finance Committee and the City of London last November, in cities like London, Hong Kong, New York, and Singapore – the world’s principle sources of capital. Requiring investors to disclose the carbon footprint of BRI infrastructure projects, rather than just the risk climate change poses to investments, would also make a difference.

Second, China could take more aggressive action to promote low-carbon investments in BRI countries, in line with the government’s high-level commitments to advance sustainable development and its international climate leadership. For example, China could require all BRI investmentsby Chinese financial institutions and non-financial corporations to adhere visibly to specific green standards. This could be complemented by the creation of a low-carbon compact that includes leading Chinese and international companies carrying out BRI projects and providing green technologies to participating countries.

Finally, international organizations should increase their support to BRI countries for greening infrastructure development. Beyond environmental governance, such organizations should help to advance frameworks for green finance policy and increase their capacity for green public procurement. After all, while most BRI infrastructure investments still rely on international financing, over time, larger BRI countries’ financial systems will increasingly shape the carbon intensity of domestic investments.

The BRI has the potential to invigorate developing economies and raise incomes for many millions of people. But we need to make sure that the benefits are not offset by unmitigated climate change. Now is the moment for China and the international community to work together to take concrete action to ensure that BRI investments are climate friendly.

Copyright: Project Syndicate: A low-carbon belt and road

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz  

Category News

Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan gas deal marks new era of cooperation at Caspian <span class="color_red">[EXCLUSIVE]</span>

Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan gas deal marks new era of cooperation at Caspian [EXCLUSIVE]

3 February 17:06
Liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories to boost regional integration, cooperation

Liberation of Azerbaijan’s territories to boost regional integration, cooperation

11 January 15:16
Victorious Azerbaijan set to continue international integration despite challenges

Victorious Azerbaijan set to continue international integration despite challenges

20 November 2020 11:00
Karabakh oil field to help Azerbaijan maintain stability in production and revenues <span class="color_red">[INTERVIEW]</span>

Karabakh oil field to help Azerbaijan maintain stability in production and revenues [INTERVIEW]

25 August 2020 14:24
Weekly review of Azerbaijan's precious metals market (June 12-19)

Weekly review of Azerbaijan's precious metals market (June 12-19)

20 June 2020 13:42
Expert says economic recovery underway amid growing oil prices <span class="color_red">[INTERVIEW]</span>

Expert says economic recovery underway amid growing oil prices [INTERVIEW]

9 June 2020 11:18
Credit organizations of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association to increase agricultural lending

Credit organizations of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association to increase agricultural lending

9 April 2020 15:16
Expert: Armenian authorities threat to European security <span class="color_red">[EXCLUSIVE]</span>

Expert: Armenian authorities threat to European security [EXCLUSIVE]

21 February 2020 17:43
Expert: Poverty, corruption among Armenia’s key challenges <span class="color_red">[EXCLUSIVE]</span>

Expert: Poverty, corruption among Armenia’s key challenges [EXCLUSIVE]

10 February 2020 19:25
Expert says participation in Davos to enhance Azerbaijan’s integration <span class="color_red">[EXCLUSIVE]</span>

Expert says participation in Davos to enhance Azerbaijan’s integration [EXCLUSIVE]

10 February 2020 12:51
  • Latest
  • Popular
18:14 • Country registers 195 new COVID-19 cases
17:04 • Armenia's war crimes exposed at UN Congress
16:35 • Spanish La Vanguardia: Return to Azerbaijan's Karabakh after war
16:10 • Dustbin of history - place for former Armenian president Kocharian, 'Karabakh clan' - historian
14:53 • Interest in entrepreneurship growing among women in Azerbaijan
14:16 • Japanese businessmen visit Azerbaijan’s Guba genocide memorial complex [PHOTO]
13:40 • Azerbaijan shows footage from Zangilan's Garagoz village [VIDEO]
13:18 • Moscow hosts opening ceremony of another 'Gifts of Azerbaijan' stand
13:00 • Baku celebrating International Women's Day [PHOTO]
12:42 • Azerbaijan’s state interests on Azerbaijani-Armenian border protected at highest level
12:25 • Weekly review of Azerbaijani oil market
12:03 • First VP congratulates Azerbaijani women on International Women's Day
11:43 • FIA updates schedule of Formula 1 weekends
11:26 • Turkey goes zero waste in agriculture
11:04 • State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan enters top five most transparent sovereign wealth funds
10:48 • Azerbaijan’s Buta Airways low-cost airline to resume flights from Baku to Ukraine’s Kyiv
10:30 • Azerbaijani Finance Ministry to auction off interest-bearing bonds
10:07 • Azerbaijan together with McKinsey improving railway sector
09:45 • President Ilham Aliyev makes Facebook post on International Women's Day
08:00 • Azerbaijan celebrates International Women's Day
08:00 • Azerbaijan celebrates International Women's Day
14:16 • Japanese businessmen visit Azerbaijan’s Guba genocide memorial complex [PHOTO]
10:07 • Azerbaijan together with McKinsey improving railway sector
11:04 • State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan enters top five most transparent sovereign wealth funds
10:30 • Azerbaijani Finance Ministry to auction off interest-bearing bonds
10:48 • Azerbaijan’s Buta Airways low-cost airline to resume flights from Baku to Ukraine’s Kyiv
11:26 • Turkey goes zero waste in agriculture
11:43 • FIA updates schedule of Formula 1 weekends
12:42 • Azerbaijan’s state interests on Azerbaijani-Armenian border protected at highest level
13:18 • Moscow hosts opening ceremony of another 'Gifts of Azerbaijan' stand
13:00 • Baku celebrating International Women's Day [PHOTO]
09:45 • President Ilham Aliyev makes Facebook post on International Women's Day
12:25 • Weekly review of Azerbaijani oil market
12:03 • First VP congratulates Azerbaijani women on International Women's Day
13:40 • Azerbaijan shows footage from Zangilan's Garagoz village [VIDEO]
16:35 • Spanish La Vanguardia: Return to Azerbaijan's Karabakh after war
14:53 • Interest in entrepreneurship growing among women in Azerbaijan
16:10 • Dustbin of history - place for former Armenian president Kocharian, 'Karabakh clan' - historian
17:04 • Armenia's war crimes exposed at UN Congress
18:14 • Country registers 195 new COVID-19 cases
See more
AzerNews Newspaper
AzerNews
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • RSS

Information

About us Contacts Advertising Azernews In Print

News Archive

© 2021 AzerNews. All rights reserved