Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Green Development of the Belt and Road". They put forward relevant opinions on how to effectively promote the green development of the Belt and Road, actively respond to climate change, and maintain global ecological security, so as to ensure the high-quality development of the Belt and Road, and build a community of human and natural life. Detailed instructions were given, which sparked heated discussions in the market.

Global challenges continue, and opportunities also appear

The "Opinions" issued this time mainly focus on promoting cooperation in key areas of green development, promoting green development of overseas projects, etc., and proposes 15 specific tasks. Deepening, the concept of green silk road has been recognized by all parties, pragmatic cooperation in green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation, green finance and other fields has been solidly promoted, the leading role of green demonstration projects has become more obvious, and the ability to prevent environmental risks of overseas projects has been significantly improved. Green development has achieved remarkable results along the way. By 2030, the concept of jointly building the green development of the Belt and Road will be more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the green development partnership will be closer, the green development capabilities of "going out" enterprises will be significantly enhanced, the environmental risk prevention and control system for overseas projects will be improved, and the green development pattern of the Belt and Road will be jointly built. basically formed.

Since the establishment of the Green Silk Road, China and 29 countries have jointly launched the Belt and Road Green Development Partnership Initiative, established the Belt and Road Green Development International Alliance, issued the "Belt and Road Green Investment Principles", and promised to "strongly support developing countries in green and low-carbon energy." development, and no more new overseas coal power projects”, the green background of the joint construction of the Belt and Road is even more distinct. At the same time, with the further intensification of global challenges such as the new crown pneumonia epidemic, climate change and biodiversity loss, the need for co-construction of a country to coordinate economic and social development and resource environmental protection has become more intense, and the construction of the Green Silk Road is facing unprecedented opportunities. .

Focus on green infrastructure, green energy, green finance and other fields. This "Opinion" makes a relatively clear explanation of the specific external cooperation methods in key green development areas that are widely concerned by the market.

Green infrastructure interconnection

Guide enterprises to promote the green environmental protection standards and best practices of infrastructure, rationally select sites and routes in the design stage, reduce the impact on various protected areas and ecologically sensitive and fragile areas, do a good job in environmental impact assessment, and implement them during the construction and operation periods Practical and feasible measures for ecological and environmental protection, and continuously improve the level of green and low-carbon development in the process of infrastructure operation, management and maintenance. Guide enterprises to adopt energy-saving and water-saving standards in the process of building overseas infrastructure, reduce waste of materials, energy and water resources, improve resource utilization, reduce waste discharge, and strengthen waste treatment.

Green energy cooperation

Deepen green and clean energy cooperation and promote green and low-carbon transformation and development of international energy cooperation. Encourage solar power, wind power and other enterprises to "go global" and promote the establishment of a number of green energy best practice projects. Deepen cooperation in the field of energy technology and equipment, focusing on joint research and exchange training on high-efficiency and low-cost renewable energy power generation, advanced nuclear power, smart grid, hydrogen energy, energy storage, carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage.

Green Transportation Cooperation

Strengthen international cooperation in the field of green transportation, and help countries jointly build the Belt and Road to develop green transportation. Actively promote the low-carbon development of international shipping and international aviation. Promote energy-saving and low-carbon vehicles such as new energy and clean energy vehicles and ships, and promote the Chinese plan for intelligent transportation. Encourage enterprises to participate in overseas railway electrification upgrade projects, consolidate and stabilize the good development trend of China-Europe freight trains, and develop multimodal transport and green logistics.

Green Industry Cooperation

Encourage enterprises to carry out investment and cooperation in the new energy industry, new energy vehicle manufacturing and other fields, and promote the green and low-carbon development of "going out" enterprises. Encourage enterprises to set up overseas equity investment funds focusing on green and low-carbon fields, and flexibly carry out green industry investment cooperation in various ways.

Green Finance Cooperation

Under the framework of multilateral cooperation such as the United Nations and the G20, promote voluntary guidelines and best practices related to green investment and financing, and promote capacity building in the field of green finance. Make good use of loans from international financial institutions and leverage private green investment. Encourage financial institutions to implement the Belt and Road Green Investment Principles.

Green Technology Cooperation

Strengthen the scientific research and popularization and application of green technology, strengthen the layout of basic research and cutting-edge technology, accelerate the research and development and promotion of advanced and applicable technologies, and encourage enterprises to give priority to adopting low-carbon, energy-saving, water-saving, and environmentally friendly materials and technologies. Give play to the role of mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan, support people-to-people and cultural exchanges, joint research, platform construction and other cooperation in the field of green technology, implement special action for technology transfer for sustainable development, build a green technology reserve for the Belt and Road, and promote green technology Cooperation network and base construction.

Green Standard Cooperation

Actively participate in the formulation of international green standards, and strengthen the connection with the green standards of countries jointly building the Belt and Road. Encourage industry associations and other institutions to formulate and publish industry green standards, norms and guidelines that are in line with international standards.

Cooperation on Climate Change

Promote all parties to fully implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement, actively seek the "greatest common divisor" to address climate change with countries jointly building the Belt and Road, strengthen dialogue, exchanges and cooperation with relevant countries, and promote the establishment of fair, reasonable and cooperative A win-win global climate governance system. Continue to implement the Belt and Road Initiative for South-South Cooperation on Climate Change, promote the construction of low-carbon demonstration zones and the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, provide green, low-carbon, energy-saving and environmental protection and other related material assistance to address climate change, and help countries jointly building the Belt and Road to improve their response to climate change Climate change capacity.

Leverage global capital to consolidate and advance capacity building in green finance

On November 30, 2018, at the third working group meeting of the China-UK Green Finance Working Group, the Green Finance Professional Committee of the China Society for Finance and Banking and the City of London Green Finance Initiative Committee jointly released the "Belt and Road Green" drafted by the China-UK organization. Investment Principles, other institutions involved in the drafting include the Belt and Road Inter-Bank Normalization Cooperation Mechanism, the Green Belt and Road Investor Alliance, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Paulson Institute and the World Economy forum.

Based on the existing responsible investment initiatives, this principle incorporates low-carbon and sustainable development issues into the Belt and Road Initiative, and is committed to strengthening environmental and social risk management of investment projects and promoting the greening of Belt and Road investment. The principle proposes seven principled initiatives from the three levels of strategy, operation and innovation, including corporate governance, strategy formulation, risk management, external communication and the use of green financial tools, etc., for global financial institutions and enterprises participating in the Belt and Road investment in Adopted and implemented on a voluntary basis.

At present, the members participating in the "Belt and Road Green Investment Principles" include 41 signatories and 12 supporters from 15 countries and regions around the world, holding or managing a total of more than 49 trillion US dollars of comprehensive assets, providing for the Belt and Road projects. A lot of money. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China and the countries along the ancient Silk Road are linked through infrastructure planning and construction, and international investors mobilized with the help of green bonds and credits have brought considerable financing to infrastructure and generated a large number of green projects.

According to the information released in the "Opinions", the concept of green development will run through the Belt and Road policy communication, infrastructure interconnection, trade exchanges, financial cooperation and other aspects, not only to further utilize and consolidate China's first-mover advantage in the field of new energy, to help China in the The field of "carbon neutrality" has gained greater discourse and governance rights, and also provides a new reference model for global sustainable development strategies, which is conducive to the realization of a win-win situation for human, ecological and economic benefits.

It is worth noting that the "Opinions" encourages a group of global leading companies in the new energy field to "go out boldly" and to deeply and flexibly participate in green industry investment cooperation through the establishment of overseas equity investment funds and other means. This also enlightens us that, when conditions permit, we should also "adjust our vision, moderate outward, and pay attention to high-quality targets in the global market." Of course, it is also necessary to carefully identify and prevent various risks before entering the invested projects, and accumulate exploration experience, so that Chinese capital can help the world overcome serious environmental and climate challenges and obtain long-term reasonable benefits. Editor / Xu Shengpeng