Heavy carbon emitters in China’s belt and road network may put Paris climate targets at risk
- Study on impact of global infrastructure scheme finds that if countries don’t curb emissions, temperatures could rise by nearly 3 degrees Celsius by 2050
- It says ‘investment decisions made now could make or break’ the 2015 goals
It concluded that if the countries did not rein in emissions, temperatures could rise by nearly 3 degrees Celsius by 2050, and that “investment decisions made now could make or break Paris Agreement targets”. The 2015 pact aims to keep average global temperature rises under 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
The report on the climate impact of Beijing’s sprawling infrastructure and investment scheme – which seeks to link China with Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond via a network of railways, roads, ports, power plants and other projects – was put together by Chinese, European and US researchers.
It called on Beijing to strengthen finance requirements for projects under the initiative to help reduce its carbon footprint and to promote green investment.
“The Belt and Road Initiative offers an opportunity to decarbonise particularly infrastructure investment,” said Simon Zadek, lead author of the report and a senior visiting fellow at Tsinghua University’s Centre for Finance and Development in Beijing.