2022 Year in Review

should make an effort to effectively strengthen domestic
environmental standards and support local enforcement. This
might not always be realistic given the immense economic gains
that the BRI-sponsored infrastructure can bring to a country.
Nevertheless, China could provide financial incentives to these
countries’ local governments or could also implement binding
regulations to which Chinese investors and developers should
adhere.
An alternative would be to align the implementation of the BRI with
the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This was already
mentioned during China’s 2017 speech on the BRI, but in order to
achieve tangible results, monitoring is necessary. This could be
done by an independent body or perhaps a UN-agency or the
creation of a watchdog that would publish periodical reports on the
matter and bring it under scrutiny.
Transparency is another important element. Increasing the output
of publicly available information about the planning, financing and
procurement of BRI projects in the form of periodical reports would
give the media, legal practitioners and environmental or climate
activists as well as the general public the opportunity to scrutinise
the government and the involved companies. This not only
encourages community engagement but also poses benefits to
China as it would reinforce public trust in investment and might
result in more positive attitudes regarding the BRI. It is thus
definitely in China’s interest to start strictly adhering to
environmental standards.
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