Roundtable on BRI Green Development and the General Assembly of BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) was held on 10 May, 2023 in Beijing. H.E. Huang Runqiu, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China (MEE) attended the Roundtable online and delivered opening remarks. H.E. Grace Fu, Minister of the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore, Co-Chair of BRIGC; Marco Lambertini, Special Envoy of WWF International, Co-Chair of BRIGC; and Andrew Steer, President & CEO of Bezos Earth Fund, Co-Chair of BRIGC attended the event in an onsite and online hybrid manner and addressed opening remarks. Zhao Yingmin, Vice Minister of MEE, moderated the Opening Remarks session.

H.E. Huang Runqiu pointed out that, a decade ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping first put forward the idea of a community of future for mankind. Since then, China has proposed a series of initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, calling for the international community to be united, cooperative and inclusive, instead of being divided, confronted and exclusive. In doing so, global development will be more robust, greener and more balanced to pursue an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. Jointly building a green BRI is an important move for China to support the green and low-carbon development of developing countries and promote collaborative efforts in building a clean and beautiful world under the concept of a community with a shared future.

Huang said, as the world’s largest developing country, China upholds the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and takes a holistic approach to the conservation and improvement of mountains, waters, forests, farmlands, grasslands, and deserts, to promote the modernization of harmonious co-existence between humanity and nature. China’s environmental endeavors have seen historic and transformative changes in all fronts, creating miracles in ecological conservation and green development that impressed the world.

Huang stressed that, in recent years, by upholding the principle of green development, China has put forward a series of initiatives to promote green actions, including launching the BRI Environmental Big Data Platform, implementing the Green Silk Road Envoys program, and initiating the BRI South-South Cooperation on Climate Change. These efforts have provided training for over 3000 personnels in 120 developing countries. In particular, President Xi Jinping initiated the launching of BRIGC. Through policy dialogues, joint researches, capacity building and industrial cooperation, BRIGC has dedicated itself to promoting international consensus and concerted efforts to achieve green development, while providing technical support to policy decision-making in the field of BRI green development. By now, BRIGC has become a major platform for international cooperation in BRI green development, playing an increasingly crucial role in improving the environmental governance capability of BRI participating countries and facilitating the implementation of the United Nations 2030 SDGs. China is willing to join hands with all sides to step up support for BRIGC in its new stage, with greater contributions to the high-quality development of the BRI, the Global Development Initiative, and facilitating the green transition in BRI participating countries.

Li Kexin, Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China; and Ding Jie, Counsel (Director-General level) of the Department of Regional Opening-up of NDRC delivered opening remarks. Erik Solheim, Convener of BRIGC Advisory Committee, Senior Advisor of World Resources Institute; Kate Hampton, Convener of BRIGC Advisory Committee, CEO of Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF); and Zou Ji, Advisor of BRIGC Advisory Committee, CEO & President of Energy Foundation China (EFC), carried out discussions on topics including BRI Green Development Outlook and global green and low-carbon transition.

As the first international organization in the environmental protection sector, BRIGC is a platform that consists of NGOs, research institutes and enterprises in the field of ecological environment and sustainable development worldwide under the framework of green BRI. It will serve as a platform for multilateral cooperation and mechanism alignment which aims to promote green and low-carbon transition in BRI participating countries, facilitate joint efforts in realizing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and contribute to the building of a community of life for man and nature. In the first BRIGC General Assembly, the first batch of 42 Founding Members of BRIGC elected the BRIGC Governing Board and approved the Charter of BRIGC. During the Roundtable, BRIGC policy studies reports were released that cover BRI green and low-carbon transition, green transport, and BRI green cities collaboration, including BRI Case Study Report on Green Transport System and Green Development Guidance for BRI Projects Phase III. Episodes of the Vista of the Green Silk Road 2022 were released and the 2023 program was launched.