2022 Year in Review

GREEN SILK ROAD
In response to heavy criticism, China wanted to rebrand the BRI as
the ‘green silk road’ by stating that China would aim to become
carbon neutral by 2060 and that the BRI must become more
sustainable. In 2017, at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road
Forum for International Cooperation, Chinese President Xi Jinping
stated that “[w]e should pursue the new vision of green
development and a way of life and work that is green, low-carbon,
circular and sustainable. Efforts should be made to strengthen
cooperation in ecological and environmental protection and build a
sound ecosystem so as to realize the goals set by the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development.” In addition, China promised to stop
sponsoring coal power plant projects. In March 2022, China’s
National Development and Reform Commission issued a directive
committing to raise construction and financing norms for Chinese
developers and banks. The directive stated that environmental risk
prevention would be bolstered by 2025 and that by 2030 the green
BRI should be realised. Nevertheless, these guidelines are not
binding and can also not be monitored as the BRI is not governed
centrally.
HOW CAN THE GREEN SILK ROAD BE
MATERIALISED?
It is no secret that the BRI has a massive impact on the projectcountries.
Nevertheless, there are opportunities to make the BRI
more environmentally friendly. A green Silk Road would, however,
require efforts from both China and the contracting countries.
One such way would be to strictly adhere to the domestic
environmental laws of the project-country. However, it could be
argued that these domestic laws are not up to par with international
environmental standards and provide only baseline protection, so
the host countries
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