On September 8, 2021, Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, pointed out at the 2021 annual meeting of the China Commission for International Cooperation on Environment and Development that since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward in 2013, the concept of green, low carbon and sustainability has been continuously deepened. Cooperation in the field of ecological civilization has become an important part of the joint construction of the Belt and Road, and high-quality development has become a distinct theme in the construction of the Belt and Road in the new era.

The conference report pointed out that China's investment in renewable energy projects in countries along the Belt and Road is generally increasing, and a number of clean energy projects have been implemented. Green has become the background color of the Belt and Road construction.

International Green Cooperation

Statistics show that from 2013 to 2019, China's cumulative direct investment in countries along the Belt and Road was US$117.31 billion, an average annual growth of 6.7%. In addition, according to estimates by the World Bank, the decline in trade costs brought about by the infrastructure construction of the Belt and Road Initiative will increase real global income. The investment related to the Belt and Road Initiative can lift 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million people out of moderate poverty.

It is proposed in the "14th Five-Year Plan" outline to promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is proposed to "strengthen exchanges and cooperation in response to climate change, maritime cooperation, wildlife protection, desertification prevention and control, and promote the construction of a green silk road."

In June 2021, during the high-level meeting on international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region on the Belt and Road, 29 countries including China jointly launched the Belt and Road Green Development Partnership Initiative, calling for international cooperation to achieve a green and sustainable economic recovery and promote low levels after the epidemic. Carbon, resilient and inclusive economic growth.

Zhao Yingmin emphasized that 2021 is the first year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, and it is also a critical period for deepening the construction of the Green Silk Road. The construction of the Green Belt and Road and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are mutually supportive and are an important means to promote the green development and post-epidemic recovery of countries along the Belt and Road.

Zhao Yingmin said that in the face of the new situation of global environmental governance, the response to climate change is placed at the top of the construction of the Green Belt and Road, and the construction of the Green Silk Road is continuously promoted. With the release of carbon neutrality targets by more than 100 countries around the world, countries around the world have formed an international consensus on addressing climate change, and promoting the green and low-carbon transition of countries along the Belt and Road has become the only way for countries to recover after the epidemic. Editor/Tian Zengpeng