China flexes its economic muscles to push green finance on the New Silk Road

Deborah Lehr says Beijing’s leadership on the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ means it can encourage partners to emulate its plans for sustainable development

By Deborah Lehr as featured on South China Morning Post

China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” is likely to transform trading routes from Asia to Africa, the Middle East to Russia. With the world’s largest foreign reserves and a determination to build political and economic ties with strategically important governments, China is helping finance much-needed major infrastructure projects along the modern Silk Road. China is also using its economic might to promote its own set of standards, and nowhere is this more evident than in the field of green finance.

China has launched the world’s largest green bond market, officials’ promotions are linked to meeting environmental targets and banks grant preferential interest rates to sustainable projects. China will soon create the world’s largest experiment in pricing carbon with its national exchange.