City Research Online

Abstract

In comparison with other global initiatives, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) does not have any formal governance principles nor a secretariat. Rather, it is founded on five ‘goals’: policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds. What we do know about the BRI, is that it is integral to China’s economic development plans and will be supported by Chinese banks which will continue to finance BRI projects and related industries, such as shipping. Increased fleet capacity for shipping will likely continue being funded by China’s long-term development banks, such as the Bank of China, Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the China Development Bank (CDB) – all regulated by People’s Bank of China. The establishment and expansion of an extensive maritime network is said to dramatically increase the demand for shipping services, which can significantly increase shipping’s contribution to global pollution and carbon emissions. Although China hopes to become a significant player in green shipping, there is no present policy nor legislation specific to ship financing in China, which falls under general financing laws, regulations and policies. These laws are largely insufficient in acknowledging the nature of shipping assets, as ‘ships are financial and technical assets that operate in an international and intra-jurisdictional framework’. There is also significant difference between ships and ‘development projects’.

This Paper aims to elucidate the basis upon which China finances ship building and vessel retrofitting for the advancement of its ‘ecological civilisation’. What policies guide ‘green’ development projects and how are these extended to shipping? Is there a workable taxonomy for the financing of green ships? State Owned Enterprise’s will inevitably base their strategies on state policy, therefore it becomes important to interpret what China means by ‘green finance’ as this will be a dominant regulatory tool for vessel source-pollution.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	P. Rebelo, Vessel-Source Pollution in the Belt and Road Initiative: Green Finance as a Regulatory Tool for Environmental Sustainability, in Il Diritto Marittimo, 2020, pp. 639-657.
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General)
Departments:	The City Law School > Academic Programmes

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