Reducing Environmental Risks from Belt and Road Initiative Investments in Transportation Infrastructure

Losos, Elizabeth ; Pfaff, Alexander ; Olander, Lydia ; Mason, Sara ; Morgan, Seth

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT;    ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS;    GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS;    RAILWAYS;    ROADS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-8718
RP-ID  :  WPS8718

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The Belt and Road Initiative, due to itsdiverse and extensive infrastructure investments, poses awide range of environmental risks. Some projects have easilyidentifiable and measurable impacts, such as energyprojects' greenhouse gas emissions. Others, such astransportation infrastructure, due to their vast geographicreach, generate more complex and potentially more extensiveenvironmental risks. The proposed Belt and Road Initiativerail and road investments have stimulated concerns becauseof the history of significant negative environmental impactsfrom large-scale transportation projects across the globe.This paper studies environmental risks -- direct andindirect -- from Belt and Road Initiative transportationprojects and the mitigation strategies and policies toaddress them. The paper concludes with a recommendation onhow to take advantage of the scale of the Belt and RoadInitiative to address these concerns in a way not typicallyavailable to stand-alone projects. In short, this scalemotivates and permits early integrated development andconservation planning.