Beijing, 1 April 2020: The Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) held its First Coordination Meeting of 2020 online, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The meeting – attended by more than 110 representatives of Chinese and global BRIGC partners and businesses, including UNEP, IUCN, WRI and WWF – heard the reports from the BRIGC Secretariat and 10 thematic partnerships. Attendees affirmed the achievements of the BRIGC, proposed recommendations on the thematic partnerships, research programs, champion countries, and pilot projects, and expressed their expectation for BRIGC to expand its cooperation networks and international influence for better safeguarding the development of a green Belt and Road.
Advisors of the BRIGC Advisory Committee stressed the importance of combining measures for containing COVID-19 with actions for addressing environmental issues. The committee suggested China should integrate green economy stimulus measures in its BRI projects.
WBCSD President & CEO Peter Bakker attended and addressed the meeting in an opening keynote speech in his capacity of a Convener of the Advisory Committee of the BRIGC. In his speech, Bakker focused on the need for the BRIGC to support BRI participating countries to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of green technology and innovation.
Peter Bakker said: “The world needs immediate business actions to address the crisis and shape the future. It is equally essential to continue our work on sustainable development. Together with our members, WBCSD will continue to support increased sustainability of the Belt and Road Initiative.”
Other remarks came from advisors like Erik Solheim, Advisor of World Resources Institute (WRI), Kate Hampton, Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Zhou Guomei, Executive Director-General of Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center (FECO), Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE).
Wei Dong Zhou, Director of WBCSD’s China office, delivered a speech on behalf of the “Green Technology Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility Task Force”, and shared the progress on projects made together with two other Chinese partners (CBCSB and Everbright International), with a focus on water, energy, the Eco-friendly PPP project and No-waste city.
The Meeting also shared the progress and initial outputs of the Joint Research on Green Development Guidance for BRI Projects (The ‘Green Light System’), Issue Papers, and Special Reports.
The BRIGC was launched in April 2019, at the 2nd Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum attended by Peter Bakker, Minister Li Ganjie of the Chinese Ministry of Ecology & Environment and other leaders of international organizations. BRIGC is the main organ responsible for increasing the environmental sustainability of the Belt and Road Initiative.
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