Asia Society Policy Institute

Plans for the Chinese Government, financiers, developers, contractors, and others under the umbrella of the BRI.

Offers plans to strengthen Chinese implementation of environmental protection in BRI projects and increase cooperation on environmental issues with host countries.

The Chinese Government should:

• Strengthen cooperation platforms and staff exchanges. 
• Foster green development in key areas such as railways and electric power facilities.
• Deepen cooperation in environmental pollution control, ecological protection, and nuclear and radiation safety.
• Improve green and low-carbon operations, management, and maintenance of project facilities. 
• Clarify environmental protection requirements in infrastructure construction standards. 
• Enforce environmental standards and practices in sectors such as green transportation, green building, and green energy.

The Chinese Government should:

• Construct bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms for dialogue and exchange with developers, contractors, host country governments, civil society organizations (CSOs)/nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, and the public on concepts, laws, regulations, policies, standards, strategies, and action plans for environmental protection.
• Support environmental CSOs/NGOs’ partnerships with relevant institutions in host countries.
• Cooperate with host countries on pollution prevention and control, solid waste management, and comprehensive rural environmental improvement.
• Establish biodiversity databases and information-sharing platforms.
• Establish a comprehensive coordination mechanism to bolster interactions among governments, companies, and the public.

Developers and Contractors should: 

• Communicate with stakeholders on environmental protection matters in a timely manner.

The Chinese Government should:

• Provide environmental information-sharing platforms to enhance advisory services and cooperation on environmental risk assessment and prevention. 
• Provide guidance to developers and contractors on the implementation of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and environmental risk prevention in accordance with local requirements.
• Improve environmental information disclosure to strengthen risk management for BRI and other overseas investment projects.