Report: no investment in coal along the BRI

According to reports, China has not invested in any coal projects along the New Silk Road in the first half of 2021. Since the Belt and Road Initiative was launched in 2013, China has made investments in climate-damaging coal-fired power generation each subsequent year, as stated by a report by the Beijing-based think tank International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF) published on Tuesday. In general, the volume of investment has dropped. According to the report, BRI financing in 140 countries totaled $19.3 billion in the first six months of 2021, down by 29 percent from last year. The average transaction size has also become smaller, dropping from an average of $1.3 billion in 2018 to $550 million in 2021. One reason for the decline, according to the IIGF, was restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.