265 Civil Society Groups Call on Chinese Authorities to Ensure that Covid-19 Financial Relief Does Not Bail Out Harmful Projects
On April 29, 2020, over 260 civil society groups across the world called on the Chinese government to ensure that COVID-19 related financial relief for struggling Belt and Road projects flows only to high quality overseas investments satisfying specific stringent criteria, and avoid bailing out projects already mired in environmental, social, biodiversity, climate, or financial risks prior to the onset of COVID-19.
In February 2020, China’s Ministry of Commerce and the China Development Bank (CDB) jointly issued a notice creating a mechanism for directing finance to Belt and Road projects that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement instructed local commerce departments and centrally state-owned enterprises to collect information on overseas projects impacted by the outbreak, and pass this information on to CDB, which will consider providing financial relief to get projects back on track. Crucially, the notice states that projects that are “high quality”, “legally compliant”, and have “controllable risks” can qualify to receive COVID-19 related financial relief.
In the statement, civil society groups highlighted 60 Chinese sponsored projects in the mining, pulp and paper, hydropower, fossil fuel, infrastructure, and other sectors which do not meet these criteria, and set out ten specific principles that if present could help to ensure that projects are “high quality”. This includes ensuring credible, robust environmental impact assessments, obtaining free, prior informed consent from affected people, committing not to impact on key biodiversity areas, and ensuring alignment with international norms and best practices and China’s green finance policies, among others.
The statement has had some media coverage in Indonesia, Russia and a lot in Ghana, such as here, here and here, and signatories are working to get more. If you think your media contacts would be interested, please pass it along!
Several of the signatory organizations have posted on their websites with background and links to the statement in English and Chinese:
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Inclusive Development International: 265 Civil Society Groups Call on Chinese Authorities to Ensure that Covid-19 Financial Relief Does Not Bail Out Harmful Projects
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Rivers Without Boundaries: Green Cure for BRI after COVID-19
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Friends of the Earth: Over 260 CSOs call on Chinese actors to ensure COVID-19 financial relief be allocated to high quality, not high-risk Belt and Road investments
For more information click on the following link: https://www.inclusivedevelopment.net/hundreds-of-civil-society-groups-call-on-chinese-authorities-to-ensure-that-covid-19-financial-relief-does-not-bail-out-harmful-projects/