Advancing the Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative

The report argues that infrastructure investments in emerging and developing economies (EMDEs) will lock in emissions trajectories for decades, necessitating a shift toward low-carbon energy and transport. It highlights China's role as a leading manufacturer of solar, wind, and battery technologies to support this transition via the BRI. The document emphasizes the Green Investment Principles (GIP) as a framework for financial institutions to manage climate risks and shift capital from 'brown' to 'green' assets. Case studies from Viet Nam, Kazakhstan, and Morocco illustrate how specific policy mechanisms, such as feed-in-tariffs and one-stop shops, can attract private investment. It also discusses emerging technologies like green hydrogen and digital traceability for sustainable supply chains.

• Emerging and developing economies (EMDEs) face a significant infrastructure investment gap, requiring $66 trillion before 2030 to support economic recovery and a green transition.
• Under the IEA's Net-Zero Emissions scenario, EMDEs will need substantial annual investments between 2026 and 2030 across several sectors: $300 billion for transmission and distribution, $243 billion for wind power, $157 billion for solar power, $133 billion for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and $26 billion for battery storage.
• China is a dominant global provider of low-carbon technologies, having installed 36% of the world's solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 39% of the world's wind power capacity as of 2020.
• The Green Investment Principles (GIP) for the Belt and Road, launched in 2018, has grown to 41 signatories and 12 supporters from 15 countries and regions, with 50% of these having developed or are developing policies to phase out coal.
• Financial institutions are increasingly adopting the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations to manage and disclose climate-related transition risks and align portfolios with the Paris Agreement.
• There is a clear trend among GIP signatories to phase out coal; for example, the Bank of China announced it will no longer finance new coal-mining and coal-fired power projects overseas.
• Green finance instruments are growing but remain a small part of the global market; labelled green bonds accounted for only about 1% of the $120 trillion global bond market by the end of 2020.
• Host countries can attract green investment by implementing specific policy levers, such as carbon-pricing mechanisms, feed-in-tariffs, and integrated energy transition strategies.
• Case studies show that targeted policies can drive rapid growth: Viet Nam added 16 GW of solar capacity during 2019 and 2020, largely through privately funded projects incentivized by a feed-in-tariff.
• In Kazakhstan, the government mitigated investor risks by establishing the Financial Settlement Centre as a centralized buyer and indexing tariffs to the USD exchange rate (70%) and inflation (30%).
• Morocco's use of the Morocco Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) as a 'one-stop shop' for permitting, land acquisition, and financing has reduced counterparty risk for developers and lenders.

APA

World Economic Forum (2022). Advancing the Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advancing_the_Green_Development_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_2022.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Advancing the Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative. 2022. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advancing_the_Green_Development_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Advancing the Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative |date=January 2022 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advancing_the_Green_Development_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2022advancing, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Advancing the Green Development of the Belt and Road Initiative}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Advancing_the_Green_Development_of_the_Belt_and_Road_Initiative_2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }