China has become a global leader in green technology innovation and development...With the urgent need to tackle climate change threats to achieve sustainable development, the Global South is an important destination for China’s green technology transfer...

As its global footprint on green development expands, China’s endeavours to be a global leader in green development face significant challenges in terms of both narratives and on-the-ground realities:

• ...the gap between commitments and impacts is still large in the short term. The real-world application of China’s BRI has often fallen short of its environmental goals...Although the initiative pledges to enhance green development through projects like hydroelectric power plants and solar farms, evidence suggests these projects have not fully compensated for the environmental degradation and resource overuse that have occurred...
• technical barriers in accounting and auditing principles have China lagging in environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure...
• limited local capacity is still the largest bottleneck in the sustainability of green projects...

Recommendations

• China and its partners in the Global South must create a conducive environment for technology transfer by ensuring that partner countries actively participate in and have ownership over joint projects...
• It is necessary to dismantle technical barriers for Chinese enterprises to meet global environmental, social and governance standards, boosting competitiveness and long-term profitability...
• focus on impactful research and development partnerships that empower local partners and help to create locally led green technology innovation ecosystems in the Global South.