{"id":112315,"date":"2023-09-19T12:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?p=112315"},"modified":"2023-09-22T14:06:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T14:06:33","slug":"is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/","title":{"rendered":"Is China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative on the brink of a green shift?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Developing countries have \u201chuge interest\u201d in Chinese companies and institutions helping with their green energy development, experts have told China Dialogue. But there has yet to be a surge of renewable energy projects finalised under the Belt and Road Initiative<\/a> (BRI), China\u2019s global infrastructure programme, they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts spoke to China Dialogue two years after President Xi Jinping promised a shift towards greener overseas energy investments, and ahead of the BRI\u2019s 10th anniversary this autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The slow progress for renewable projects could be down to a range of factors, they explained, such as the long time it takes for deals to be negotiated, expectations realigned and strategies updated, within both China and BRI member countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, a few high-profile clean energy projects have been announced this year. They include a 123-megawatt (MW) solar farm in South Africa<\/a>, to be constructed by Power China; a 50 MW wind farm in Namibia<\/a>, that has received investment from a consortium led by Energy China; and a 600 MW solar farm in Saudi Arabia<\/a>, being built by Energy China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New coal-fired power projects have largely been halted, but a few projects slipped through the net because of \u201cloopholes\u201d, the experts added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ditching coal (almost)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At a UN meeting in September 2021, Xi announced<\/a> that \u201cChina will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power plants abroad\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, no new investments in coal power plants have been recorded under the BRI, according to the China Overseas Finance Inventory<\/a>, which tracks Chinese equity and debt investments in the power-generation sector. The database is a collaborative effort between five US universities and institutes, and contains transaction details of 652 investments in 569 power plants across 87 BRI countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere is huge interest in having Chinese manufacturers, developers and state-owned enterprises going out and supporting the green energy transition. This is a change,\u201d Christoph Nedopil, an expert in green finance and the BRI, told China Dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interest mostly comes from host countries, and partly from Chinese companies wanting to be closer to their customers and avoid potential trade restrictions, among other reasons, Nedopil said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost Chinese state-owned companies and banks I know are not interested in coal projects anymore,\u201d he added. \u201cThis was not true in 2020, where there was still a lot of talk about the need for coal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift in mindset can also be found in a lot of host countries, he noted. \u201cThe understanding is that coal is less relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nedopil is director of the Griffith Asia Institute in Australia. When China Dialogue spoke with him, he was director of the Green Finance and Development Centre (GDFC) at Fanhai International School of Finance, part of Fudan University, in Shanghai. At the GFDC he published a series of reports analysing BRI investments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GFDC\u2019s latest assessment<\/a> found that China\u2019s energy-related \u201cengagement\u201d \u2013 meaning construction and investment \u2013 under the BRI in the first half of 2023 was \u201cthe greenest\u201d for any six-month period since the initiative\u2019s launch in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report looked at the share of renewable projects in all-energy engagement, which includes power generation and exploration of resources related to energy. It found that nearly 56% of the US$12.3 billion that China spent on energy projects during the period went into renewable sources, with 41% going into solar and wind, and 14% into hydropower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some experts emphasised that not all new coal power projects have been scrapped. While Xi\u2019s announcement was \u201ccertainly a step in the right direction\u201d, a few projects are still moving ahead, such as a 300 MW coal power plant in Pakistan<\/a> and a 1.5-gigawatt (GW) plant in Indonesia<\/a>, Blake Berger, associate director at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York, told China Dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cooling<\/div>
\u201dLong live China\u2013Pakistan friendship\u201d reads the message painted below the cooling towers of the Thar-I coal power plant in Sindh, Pakistan. The project, part of the China\u2013Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), started operating in early February this year. (Image: Ahmad Kamal \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is where the loopholes begin to come into play,\u201d Berger noted. The plant on Obi, an island in eastern Indonesia, dodged the axe because it was designed as an internal facility of an industrial park, instead of a standalone coal power project. On the other hand, the project in Gwadar, in south-western Pakistan, is not considered \u201cnew\u201d by Chinese and Pakistani officials as it was first proposed in 2016 but repeatedly delayed. China Dialogue has previously reported on both developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long renegotiation processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although many coal power projects have been called off, there has not been a wave of renewable projects coming in to fill the space, some experts noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere have been no major changes,\u201d said Wang Xiaojun, founder of People of Asia for Climate Solutions, a Manila-based non-profit organisation. This was the case \u201cno matter [whether] we count the number of renewable energy projects that has been signed, or China\u2019s total overseas investments on renewable energy projects \u2013 or even the types of new renewable energy projects that were built by host countries,\u201d Xiaojun added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although many thermal power projects have been halted, they have not been transformed into renewable energy projects<\/blockquote>Wang Xiaojun, founder of People of Asia for Climate Solutions<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAlthough many thermal power projects have been halted, they have not been transformed into renewable energy projects,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, no trend indicates that new renewable energy projects will appear in bulk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One possible cause for the \u201cvacuum\u201d \u2013 as Xiaojun put it \u2013 is the fact that Xi\u2019s one-line pledge did not specify how coal power projects in the pipeline should be dealt with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The issue, which remains to be explained clearly<\/a>, has likely caused the Chinese government and host countries to spend a long time renegotiating those projects, Wang said. \u201cMany previously committed coal projects might be under renegotiation to be converted into renewable energy projects,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Other experts stated that it takes time for a government mandate to show impact on the ground. Oyintarelado Moses, data analyst for the Global China Initiative at the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center, cited the BRI itself as an example. After the initiative was introduced in 2013, it took about three years for large volumes of financing to arrive, she told China Dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The GDP Center runs a database that mostly follows the financing from China\u2019s development finance institutions, such as the Export-Import Bank of China and the China Development Bank. The database did not record any energy projects finalised after Xi\u2019s announcement in September 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we are still in that initial time lag period of [Xi\u2019s] announcement. I do expect there to be more low-carbon and renewable energy projects from 2023,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Host countries also need time to realign their national energy strategies and make decisions on old and new projects, according to Shen Wei, director of the Green BRI Centre of the International Institute of Green Finance at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA country\u2019s energy strategy is often the result of long-[term] research and preparation by relevant government departments,\u201d Shen told China Dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven though a country\u2019s government halts its plan for an old coal power plant, researching and formulating a new plan is a very complex process and involves a lot of practical questions.\u201d Should the project be in renewable energy, questions might include the type, location, and capacity, Shen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other challenges include the lack of \u201csupportive infrastructure\u201d in some countries, particularly reliable power grids that can take in renewable power \u2013 which can be unpredictable and unstable \u2013 while still running safely, according to Shen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The push for \u2018small but beautiful\u2019 projects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Renewable energy projects are often much smaller in scale than coal power plants. This means that Chinese energy investors, banks and developers need to apply new business logic and approaches to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese state-owned banks are \u201chaving to learn how to structure new deals that are focused on renewable energy projects\u201d, said Moses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China has prompted state-owned enterprises, particularly those directly run by the central government, to adjust their strategies. In February, Zhao Shitang, deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, instructed<\/a> central-level state-owned enterprises to \u201cincubate a batch of \u2018small but beautiful\u2019 projects with good economic and social benefits\u201d under the BRI, with a focus on areas such as green, health and digital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That was the first time the phrase \u201csmall but beautiful\u201d had appeared in the narrative of the BRI, according to Xiaojun, who described the instruction as \u201ca very good change\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Small but beautiful\u2019 renewable energy projects, such as distributed, flexible and off-grid projects, can meet the energy demands of host countries and provide a huge stage for Chinese private companies,\u201d Xiaojun commented. \u201cThis should be the future direction of energy investments for China under the BRI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He called for more government backing for Chinese private companies to help them \u201cplay to their full strength \u2026 Whether it is policy or financial support, I hope the government can enable private companies to invest in energy projects faster and more flexibly overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning to renewable projects also brings the Chinese into a more competitive investment space, said Nedopil. Previously, China, Japan and Korea were more or less the only providers of technology and public financing for overseas coal power plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you work on renewable energy, there are a lot more potential investors and technology providers, not only from China, but other countries as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Traffic light system\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Several Chinese and international organisations have published useful tools for evaluating the environmental impacts of BRI projects and guiding Chinese companies to invest in more sustainable ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of them is the Green Development Guidance for BRI projects, a collaborative research effort launched in 2019, two years before Xi\u2019s announcement on ending support for new coal overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The series of studies is being led by the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, which was initiated by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and comprises more than 40 companies, associations, thinktanks and non-governmental organisations from China and around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guidance is also known as the \u201ctraffic light system\u201d because it assesses BRI projects using colour-coded labels, based on their impacts on climate, ecology and the environment. Green stands for projects that should be encouraged, yellow indicates neutral ones, and red those that require stricter supervision and regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The traffic light system<\/span>
\n

\ud83d\udfe2 Green projects are encouraged. <\/strong>These BRI investments are considered to have no significant negative impact on pollution, climate change or biodiversity, and contribute positively to at least one of these, particularly if they benefit the aims of international environmental treaties and conventions. Examples include the development and use of renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udfe1 Yellow projects are environment-neutral with moderate impacts. <\/strong>These cause no significant harm, and remaining harms can be mitigated by affordable and practical measures, on a reasonable scale, within the project itself. Examples include waste-to-energy projects and urban freight transportation with emission standards above Euro IV\/national IV standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udd34 Red projects require stricter supervision and regulation.<\/strong> These are regarded as creating \u201csignificant and irreversible environmental harm\u201d in at least one of the areas of climate change, pollution and biodiversity, or the risk of such harm. Examples include coal-fired power, hydropower, petrochemical, and mining and metal smelting projects.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The first phase of this effort, which was published in December 2020, red-flagged coal-fired power projects, explained Wang Ye, an associate of the Finance Center and China Sustainable Investment Program at the World Resources Institute (WRI) China, which co-leads the project. This red flagging supported policy guidance \u201ctowards transformative development in China\u2019s overseas energy investments on stopping building [of] new coal power plants overseas,\u201d said Ye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the third report<\/a> of the project, published in May, researchers analysed the role of foreign investment cooperation funds in greening the BRI. These are official funds established by China to meet the financing needs for sustainable development in developing countries. Examples include the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund, China-Africa Development Fund, and China-Latin America and the Caribbean Cooperation Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/div>
Instructor Jiang Liping L and apprentice Horace Owiti inspect a train along the Mombasa\u2013Nairobi railway, 23 May 2023 (Image: Amadeja Plankl \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll three funds primarily invest in energy, infrastructure construction and manufacturing capacity, sectors [that are] key to the green transition,\u201d noted Ye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She underscored the importance of such funds: \u201cHow they evaluate projects and manage clients are crucial for aligning investment decisions with local needs, concretising their commitment to sustainability, and shifting financing to green projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asia Society, a non-profit organisation with offices in the US, Asia, Oceania and Europe, has developed a digital \u201ctoolkit<\/a>\u201d to help local communities and companies involved in the BRI ensure that their projects are \u201cmutually beneficial, equitable, inclusive, and environmentally and socially sustainable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Available in five languages \u2013 English, Mandarin, Khmer, Lao and Bahasa Indonesia \u2013 the toolkit focuses on two \u201ccritical aspects\u201d: how to undertake environmental and social impact assessments, and how to ensure engagement from stakeholders throughout the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe designed the toolkit to empower local communities with information to better safeguard and defend their own interest, and to help companies involved in these projects undertake these critical aspects of due diligence in a more systematic way,\u201d Berger, of Asia Society, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe found that even minor adjustments in how projects are undertaken can have a sizeable impact on long-term sustainability of the project and receptiveness of the local population,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to go further<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking into the near future, experts listed several types of renewable projects they wanted to see more of under the BRI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne is the local manufacturing of goods related to energy transition,\u201d said Nedopil. His report found that there were not many engagements in the manufacturing of equipment needed for green energy transition under the BRI. \u201cI do hope to see more of these engagements \u2013 for example, the manufacturing of solar panels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nedopil also hoped to see China step up its support for BRI countries by improving their power grids and helping their existing coal plants retire early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xiaojun underlined the importance of a growth in \u201ccapacity building\u201d in BRI countries by Chinese companies, such as facilitating technological transfer and relocating some of their renewable supply chains there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his view, these moves \u201ccan help Chinese companies mitigate some potential supply chain risks, as well as nurture the host countries\u2019 labour market and create electricity demand\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Training local talent is even more important, he pointed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the construction of BRI power projects, Chinese companies usually bring their own workers, including technicians, from home.\u201d But moving forward, Chinese companies can train workforces locally, while Chinese universities can also offer electricity and renewable courses for young people from BRI countries, Xiaojun said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese practices can truly transform a country: to stop it being a climate victim and help it become a climate victor,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renewable energy projects have yet to appear in droves, but new coal power projects have largely been halted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1072,"featured_media":112555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[758],"tags":[510,520,585],"hashtags":[],"country":[50040717,50041243,20000112,50040701,50040754],"class_list":["post-112315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-china-in-the-world","tag-coal","tag-renewables","country-indonesia","country-namibia","country-pakistan","country-saudi-arabia","country-south-africa"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative on the brink of a green shift? | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Renewable energy projects have yet to appear in droves, but new coal power projects have largely been halted\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative on the brink of a green shift?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Renewable energy projects have yet to appear in droves, but new coal power projects have largely been halted\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-19T12:00:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-22T14:06:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wind-turbine-generators-in-Zhanatas-Kazakhstan_2R23NRG_-Alamy-1200px-copy.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lushan Huang\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lushan Huang\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0c346145d8caa19f208165af1cb3210b\"},\"headline\":\"Is China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative on the brink of a green shift?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-19T12:00:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-22T14:06:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\"},\"wordCount\":2504,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Wind-turbine-generators-in-Zhanatas-Kazakhstan_2R23NRG_-Alamy-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"China in the world\",\"Coal\",\"Renewables\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-on-the-brink-of-a-green-shift\/\",\"name\":\"Is China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative on the brink of a green shift? 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