Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions

The analysis finds that despite high-level green objectives, the vast majority of Chinese BRI investments in energy and transportation from 2014 to 2017 were tied to fossil fuels and traditional infrastructure. While private Chinese enterprises showed a higher preference for renewables, state-owned enterprises and major banks remained focused on carbon-intensive sectors. The report argues that aligning BRI special funds with NDCs could catalyze significant low-carbon development, provided that BRI countries improve the quantitative granularity of their NDCs to better signal investment needs to market actors.

• Between 2014 and 2017, the majority of Chinese energy-sector financing was directed toward fossil fuels. Specifically, 91 percent of syndicated loans from six major Chinese banks, 93 percent of Silk Road Fund (SRF) investments, and 95 percent of cross-border investments by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were in fossil fuels. In contrast, 64 percent of cross-border energy investments by privately owned enterprises (POEs) were in renewable energy.
• Chinese investments in the transportation sector primarily focused on traditional infrastructure—including airports, road construction, automotive manufacturing, and aircraft financing—rather than lower-carbon alternatives like railways or urban public transit.
• There is a significant opportunity to increase climate finance through BRI special funds. If these funds were deployed with a 25 percent target for climate finance—similar to targets used by Multilateral Development Banks—it could channel over $28 billion toward NDC priorities.
• Current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in BRI countries often lack the quantitative detail necessary to guide investors. Only 55 percent of BRI countries provide quantifiable contributions in their NDCs for the energy sector, making it difficult for investors to identify specific technology pathways and investment opportunities.
• Chinese investment volume in BRI countries increased significantly over time. Between 2015 and 2017, the volume of energy and transportation syndicated loans involving major Chinese banks was three times larger than the volume from 2012 to 2014. Additionally, while overall global Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) fell by nearly 20 percent in 2017, OFDI to BRI countries grew by 31.5 percent.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions. https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions |url=https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendmoving, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Moving the Green Belt and Road Initiative: From Words to Actions}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/moving-green-belt-and-road-initiative-words-actions}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }