Green Finance, Sustainable Development and the Belt and Road Initiative

Can China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promote sustainable development, alongside its primary aims of increasing commercial connectivity with China's partners?
In discussions of the BRI the focus has tended to be on the implications for infrastructure construction, connectivity, and economic diplomacy. Rather less attention has been paid to its potential impact on sustainability. The initiative has not only set principles to prevent climate change and promote sustainable development, but also pledged to align with the UN's environmental objectives. The contributors to this volume describe and evaluate the consequent policy coordination in the areas of green finance, green energy, and sustainable development in the Belt and Road regions. They examine both the challenges and opportunities of these projects, and the role that Hong Kong can play in supporting their assessment, finance, and implementation. With contributions from authors based in mainland China, Hong Kong, Australia, Qatar, the UK, and the US - with experience in corporate social responsibility, international finance, environmental policy, and international relations - this book presents a thorough and rigorous analysis of the green side of the BRI.
A valuable resource for scholars of the BRI and its many implications for China, its partners, and the development of sustainable infrastructure.

Fanny M. Cheung is former Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Choh-Ming Li Professor of Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Senior Advisor of Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies and Co-Convenor of the Global China Research Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Ying-yi Hong is the Choh-Ming Li Professor of Management at the Faculty of Business, Associate Director of Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies and Co- Convenor of the Global China Research Programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Introduction: Green Finance, Sustainable Development, and the Belt and Road Initiative Section 1. BRI and National Competitiveness 1. Development in the Belt and Road Regions from a Competitiveness Perspective: The First Lustrum Review Section 2. Renminbi Internationalization and Green Finance 2. The Belt and Road Initiative and China's Green Foreign Direct Investment 3. Sustainability of RMB Internationalization 4. China's Rising Consumerism and RMB Internationalization and Sustainable Growth 5. Understanding Green Bond Challenges: A Stakeholder's Perspective Section 3. Green Energy, Technology and Manufacturing 6. Advancement of Environmental Sustainability through LNG: the Case of Qatar-China Relations 7. Technological Assessment of CO2 Capture and EOR/EGR/ECBM-based Storage 8. Meeting the Green Challenges and Opportunities of Hong Kong Manufacturers in China's Belt and Road Pathway: Experiences from the Pearl River Delta Section 4. Green Development and Public-Private Partnership 9. Greening China's Belt and Road: A Role for Chinese NGOs to Go Global? 10. High Hanging Fruits and the Belt and Road Initiative: sustainability through entrepreneurship 11.An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Infrastructure Standards for the Belt and Road Initiative