Abstract
At the second Belt and Road forum in 2019, the Chinese government set out its intentions to develop a “Green Belt and Road”. This paper will examine critical issues arising from green-financed projects under the Belt and Road. In particular, the root issue of the lack of harmonized sustainability standards for green bonds globally. While there are positive regulatory developments, there is still a big gap between companies’ reporting metrics and investors’ growing expectations of what constitutes “green”—constituting “green washing”. This issue compounds as green projects under the Belt and Road are often complex infrastructure projects, where unexpected (and negative) externalities may sometimes occur on the ground. In this regard, this paper advocates for robust risk management, where accurate forecasting of environmental harm and stakeholder engagement are implemented actively throughout the project's life cycle. Finally, adequate dispute resolution and avoidance measures should be adopted to protect stakeholders.
