AIIB to focus on sustainability

Bank to help countries reach goal under Paris climate pact

Editor’s note:

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ( AIIB)’ s 2nd annual meeting of the board of governors ran from Friday ay in Jeju, South Korea. The main theme of this year’s meeting was developing sustainable infrastructure projects, which will help member countries meet their commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change. During the meeting, Global Times reporter Chen Qingqing ( GT) interviewed Sir Danny Alexander, vice president and corporate secretary of the AIIB, to discuss its new members and the progress of the bank during its fi rst year of operation. GT: What major progress did the bank achieve during its fi rst year of operation? Alexander: Since last year, the AIIB has made very rapid and substantial progress. We have developed long- term programs and we now have 16 projects in a range of countries. We’re expanding our membership, so we admitted another 20 members so far this year. By the end of this annual meeting, our membership will be 80 with the additions of Argentina, Madagascar and Tonga.

We have a big focus for helping our members invest in the infrastructure they need, to help their transition to a low- carbon economy as mapped out in the Paris Agreement. The big role of this bank is to help members to do that. GT: The percentage of projects proposed to the AIIB that are accepted has been relatively low. What’s the reason for that? Alexander: We want to do very highquality projects. Of course, we have very high environmental standards. We have standards of managing the impact on people of projects, and a very strict anticorruption policy. Our projects need to be very fi nancially sustainable as well. Of course, many project ideas will come to us that we are not able to do. We have to do more work with countries, with private sectors, to get a project to a stage that then can be invested in by the

bank. GT: Any updates about possible membership for the US or Japan this year? Alexander: Not formally. Neither of those countries has applied to join, but it’s a domestic matter for them to consider. They’re welcome to apply if they wish. Of course we talk to many businesses, people, governments else- where in the US and in Japan, we have a fl ow of information.

Members of the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank are entitled to join our bank, according to our Articles of Agreement. We’re open to any of those countries that wish to apply, but it’s a domestic decision for each country. I would expect we’d see few more countries joining this year. GT: Could you elaborate on the bank’s latest energy strategy, and does it mean the bank will no longer approve carbon- based projects? Alexander: We have an energy strategy that we agreed on [ Thursday], which makes clear our commitment to prioritizing sustainable energy. We’ll follow that strategy in the concepts of projects we seek to do, and we aim to work with our members and make sure that we apply those ideas to all of the projects.

Every single member of the AIIB has signed the Paris Agreement. As I told our members, the recent move by the US to pull out of the pact also redoubled their commitments to meeting the Paris Agreement. They are very clear and they want our bank to do that.

The strategy sets out strict conditions under which we will consider any fossil project. The truth is we have no coalfi red project in our pipeline, we are not considering any coal projects, and we will not bring further any projects where we’re concerned about the environmental or reputational impact.

Of course, if there are special circumstances in particular cases, we’ll consider them. The focus is really on sustainable energy, helping members make the transition that they agreed to do under the Paris Agreement.