AIIB TOUTS GROWTH, SUSTAINABILITY PLEDGE
But environmental groups concerned by lender’s stand on coal sector investment
LEADERS of the Chinabacked Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) touted its growing membership and commitment to sustainable development at its annual meeting, even as environmental groups are disappointed by its openness to investing in coal projects.
The AIIB, which has 80 member countries, was set up to help meet the estimated US$26 trillion (RM111 trillion) need for infrastructure spending in Asia through 2030, while also demonstrating that a China-led institution can meet international standards for best practice.
The United States and Japan, both members of the Manilabased Asian Development Bank (ADB), have not joined the AIIB.
The AIIB has pledged to use its investments to help members fulfil their commitments to the Paris climate accord, which the US was withdrawing from under President Donald Trump.
“We would not consider proposals if we are concerned about the environmental and reputational impact,” said AIIB president Jin Liqun, a former vicepresident at the ADB, at the opening ceremony on Friday.
But the bank did get pushback from environmental groups about its commitment to being green with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) saying they were disappointed that the bank’s new energy industry strategy adopted on Thursday left the door open for coal sector investment.
“I have a hard time reconciling in the energy strategy a statement that says up front the purpose of the energy strategy is to help countries meet commitments under the Paris agreement, with ‘we’re going to finance coal projects’,” said Andrew Deutz of the Nature Conservancy.
Jin said after many rounds of discussion on the bank’s energy policy, “this is the best we can achieve”, adding that there were no new coal projects in its pipeline of investments.
The AIIB, China’s first effort to launch a multilateral development organisation, has been careful publicly to put distance between itself and Chinese government policy as it looks to placate concerns it would be a tool of Beijing’s foreign policy.
AIIB president Jin said “there’s been some confusion” about the relationship between AIIB and China’s huge “Belt and Road” infrastructure development and foreign policy initiative.
“We operate by our standards, by our governance. The Belt and Road was a marvelous programme ... but we have our standards,” he told a Saturday news conference, here.