Paris (AFP)
Chinese project of "new silk roads", with the development of a gigantic network of infrastructures in several countries, could undermine the objectives of the Paris Agreement on the climate, warns Monday a Chinese think tank, Tsinghua Center for Finance and Development.
In 2013, Beijing launched the "New Silk Roads" infrastructure project to connect Asia, Europe and Africa with China, with ports, railways, airports and industrial parks.
Some projects, including dams and coal-fired power plants, are accused of causing damage to the environment.
An analysis of the carbon footprint of infrastructure development in the countries involved in these new Silk Roads concludes that it could challenge the objectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep the global average temperature well below 2 ° C compared to pre-industrial levels.
According to the Tsinghua Center for Finance and Development, the 126 countries that have signed cooperation agreements with China account for 28% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
He modeled the effects of the development of ports, pipelines, railways and highways in 17 of them and deduced that some countries, such as Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia should reduce their CO2 emissions by 68% by 2050 to remain in the pinnacle of the Paris Agreement.
"We have a scenario + business as usual + which says that if we continue on the same path, even if all other countries around the world, including the United States, Europe, China and the United States. India, put themselves on the trajectory of 2 ° C, it will still explode the carbon budget, "said Simon Zadek, Tsinghua center.
China is the largest emitter of CO2 and accounts for about 30% of global emissions.
For Simon Zadek, China must lead a "coherent policy" in relation to the reduction of CO2 emissions, at home and abroad.
This study was conducted with Vivid Economics and the ClimateWorks Foundation.
© 2019 AFP