Green Development Guidance for BRI Projects Phase III: Study of China Overseas Investment Funds

In order to promote high-quality development in key areas of the BRI construction such as green infrastructure, green energy and green finance, the BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC), together with the World Resources Institute, ClientEarth, the World Wide Fund for Nature and other domestic and foreign partners, has continued to carry out research on Green Development Guidance for BRI Projects and achieved positive results. In 2019, the first phase of the project proposed a "red, yellow, and green light" classification system aimed at promoting green development of projects and reducing ecological environmental risks, to help financial institutions and enterprises avoid high- risk environmental projects. In 2021, the second phase of the project will provide operational guidance and application tools for the application practice of enterprises and financial institutions through the preparation of application manuals for enterprises and financial institutions, as well as green development guidelines for the railway and highway projects. On the basis of the preliminary research, the third phase focuses on oversea investment cooperation funds. Through research and analysis of typical fund investment and financing models, support project types, and environmental management requirements, policy recommendations are proposed to promote fund greening. Due to its official background, investment and management methods, activity areas and other characteristics, the Overseas Investment Cooperation Fund provides financing support for enterprises in the investment and construction of the BRI project, playing the role of a national platform. From the perspective of environmental management, some funds have established environmental management systems, but there are still some deficiencies in green finance support measures, environmental information disclosure, ESG system construction, etc. Among them, the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund has released the "Guidelines for Social Responsibility and Environmental Protection of Investment in the ASEAN Region", established a project classification system based on environmental and social impacts, and constructed a process for full lifecycle management. The China-Africa Development Fund has established a negative list of overseas coal power projects and projects that do not meet the environmental protection standards of the host country; In terms of process management, for projects that avoid major ecological and environmental risks in the process of project establishment, analyze the ecological environmental impact of the project in the process of review, and monitor the social benefits of project implementation in the process after investment. From the perspective of the project portfolio supported by the fund, infrastructure, production capacity cooperation, mining and other projects are the main entities supported by the fund's investment and financing, providing assistance for the economic and social development of the host country. At the same time, "small and beautiful" projects such as green, environmental protection, livelihood, agriculture, and information are gradually receiving attention Based on the research results, the report proposes suggestions to promote the high- quality development of oversea investment cooperation funds, including strengthening BRIGC collaboration between funds, establishing and improving ESG management systems, and increasing support for green and livelihood projects