On 8-12 October 2018, UN Environment and the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) co-hosted the Environmental Leadership Programme for the Green Development of the “Belt and Road Initiative” for representatives from national governments in the Central Asian countries. The event was financially supported by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.
The Belt and Road Initiative will bring trillions of dollars of investment to over 60 countries to improve economic development and regional integration. If investments in carbon-intensive infrastructure can be avoided, the initiative is an excellent opportunity for countries to develop green infrastructure, clean energy, clean technology, and human capital that will help them to work towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Increasing the sustainability of Belt and Road investments will require specific knowledge and technical expertise, as well as understanding and collaboration among key stakeholders to ensure that social and environmental safeguards are in place and that benefits are equitably shared.
Against this backdrop, the Environmental Leadership Programme for the Green Development of the “Belt and Road Initiative” offered a tailored training programme designed to help policymakers develop expertise for promoting green investment and sustainable development opportunities while managing environmental risks. It included training on risk management, green finance, and environmental and social safeguards, among other things, thereby enabling participants to incorporate Belt and Road-related opportunities into sustainable development strategies.
The objective of the training was to increase participants’ awareness and understanding of the sustainable development opportunities and challenges associated with Belt and Road investments, and policy conditions required to enable and address them. The course was designed to be highly interactive and dynamic. It took advantage of a variety of different learning approaches including technical presentations from international experts, cross-cutting knowledge-exchange and a study visit in Turin to provide participants with an increased understanding of the sustainable development needs of stakeholder groups. This knowledge can be used to inform future policy decisions.
The course structure revolved around three main themes:
• Understanding a Sustainable Belt and Road Initiative: participants were introduced to the Belt and Road Initiative and gained an understanding of what a sustainable Belt and Road looks like by examining sustainable development challenges and opportunities associated with the Initiative.
• Understanding policy tools: participants gained an understanding of the policy tools available, such as Environmental Impact Assessments, green financing mechanisms, and sustainable public procurement, that will help to address the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.
• Applying concepts: throughout the course, participants worked together in groups to apply the concepts that they had learned. The results of the group work were presented at the end of the course.
0900-0930: Course introduction: purpose, modules, administrative arrangements
(moderated by ITCILO and UN Environment)
1100-1230 Session 1: Belt and Road in global and regional context: background to BRI and linkages with SDGs, infrastructure needs in Central Asia
(Viktor Novikov, Zoi Environment Network)
1400-1530 Session 2: Delivering SDGs through sustainable infrastructure: renewable energy, green transport, clean water, waste management, etc.
(Virginie Marchal, OECD)
1600-1730: Session 3: Environment and social challenges for infrastructure projects: biodiversity, GHGs emissions, pollution, water consumption
(Viktor Novikov, Zoï Environment Network)
0900-1030 Session 4: Infrastructure system integration and sustainability acceleration
(Alexandre Hedjazi, Matteo Taratino, University of Geneva)
1100-1230: Session 5: Green Finance: access to green finance under IFIs funding mechanism green bonds, Silk Road Fund, GCF, AIIB, PPP to leverage financing, etc.
(Eva Mayehofer, European Investment Bank)
1400-1530 Session 6: Nature-based infrastructure solutions – Opportunities and Challenges
(Veronica Ruiz, IUCN)
1600-1730 Group project preparation: each group develops a project for presentation at the end of the course
(UN Environment)
0900-0930 Session 8: labour/social considerations; Green Capacity building in local workforce and green jobs creation
(Mito Tsukamoto, ILO)
1100-1230 Session 8: Leading safeguards, standards and tools for incorporating ESG risks in infrastructure projects Stefano Robaudo
(International Finance Corporation of World Bank Group)
1400-1730 Video conference with Enel Green Power team on renewable energy trends and technology deployment
0900-1230 Session 9 + 10: Multilateral Environmental Agreements (Espoo and Arhus Convention): EIA, SEA and public participation, access to information
(Rob Verheem, the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment;
Mr. Dmytro Skrylnikov, Attorney and Head of the Bureau of Environmental Investigation)
1400-1530 Session 11: Evidence-based infrastructure for sustainable and resilient development
(Steven Crosskey, Scott Thacker, UNOPS)
1600-1730 Group project preparation
0900-1230 Group project presentations
Course wrap-up, certificates, and evaluation
(moderated by ITCILO)
Presentation