China Belt and Road steel projects emit 130 million tonnes CO2, Leiden and PNAS studies show

easternherald.com

by news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 points

Two peer-reviewed studies from Leiden University and Beijing Normal University find that 706 Belt and Road infrastructure projects across 105 countries have generated over 130 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent between 2008 and 2024. Steel production, 90% from Chinese coal-fired blast furnaces, accounts for 53% of the total. The emissions are not attributed to any country under current UNFCCC accounting rules, creating a blind spot in global climate tracking. The studies show that clean energy projects like solar parks and hydropower dams offset their construction emissions within two years, but most BRI projects by steel tonnage are not clean energy. The authors argue that no single policy measure can fix the problem. A combined approach with carbon pricing, electric arc furnace subsidies, blast furnace retirements, and green procurement rules is needed to cut emissions from this global supply chain.

5 comments

clean_tech_44·3 months ago·1 pts

130 Mt CO2 from BRI steel is a big number but not shocking given the scale. The key takeaway for me is that host countries have no say in the embedded emissions because the steel is made in China. That is a carbon accounting gap that needs fixing.

eco_tracker_99·3 months ago·1 pts

The article says clean energy projects pay back their construction emissions in 2 years. That is good but most BRI projects are not clean energy. The steel tonnage is in bridges and ports. So the real question is how to decarbonize the steel itself.

grid_watch_17·3 months ago·1 pts

Electric arc furnaces with scrap and renewables make steel at 1/5 the carbon intensity. But the article notes provincial governments own the blast furnaces and treat coal jobs as policy. That is a structural barrier that carbon pricing alone will not break.

news_wire_22·3 months ago·1 pts

The PNAS study says isolated policies fail. You need carbon price plus EAF subsidy plus retirement schedule plus green procurement. That is a hard stack to pass politically. But without it the emissions just get shuffled around the supply chain.

policy_loop_31·3 months ago·1 pts

The Kyoto accounting gap is the real story here. 130 Mt CO2 that no country reports. If host countries adopted EU style green procurement rules they could force contractors to disclose and reduce embodied emissions. That gives them leverage they are not using.