Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa

This report evaluates the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices of Chinese-financed infrastructure projects in Africa, specifically focusing on energy and industrial park sectors in Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia.

• Chinese financing for African infrastructure is linked to both positive outcomes, such as economic growth and improved local livelihoods, and negative risks, including social and governance issues and environmental degradation.
• The study analyzes five case studies in the energy and industrial park sectors across Egypt, Nigeria, and Ethiopia to assess compliance with local ESG requirements and China's Traffic Light System under the Green Development Guidance for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2023). Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa. https://saiia.org.za/research/elevating-esg-empirical-lessons-on-environmental-social-and-governance-implementation-of-chinese-projects-in-africa/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa. 2023. https://saiia.org.za/research/elevating-esg-empirical-lessons-on-environmental-social-and-governance-implementation-of-chinese-projects-in-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa |date=7 September 2023 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/elevating-esg-empirical-lessons-on-environmental-social-and-governance-implementation-of-chinese-projects-in-africa/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2023elevating, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Elevating ESG: Empirical Lessons on Environmental, Social and Governance Implementation of Chinese Projects in Africa}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/elevating-esg-empirical-lessons-on-environmental-social-and-governance-implementation-of-chinese-projects-in-africa/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }