Executive Summary
This report assesses the environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices of Chinese financed infrastructure projects in Africa, within the context of substantial investment needs for African nations to achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). China plays a crucial role in potential achievement of these goals, providing finance and infrastructure development capacity through aid, loans, foreign direct investment, dedicated funds and contracting services. In the larger picture, Chinese financing has been empirically demonstrated as beneficial, contributing to economic growth and local livelihood improvements, but also presents notable risks, including environmental degradation and social and governance concerns.
This study uses a consistent ESG framework to analyze five case studies of Chinese projects in Africa. These projects span three countries receiving large amounts of Chinese financing on the African continent – Egypt, Nigeria and Ethiopia – and two sectors: energy and industrial parks, which are aligned with China’s ambitions to enhance energy access and support manufacturing in Africa. These case studies were evaluated based on their compliance with Chinese and local ESG requirements, particularly China’s Traffic Light System associated with the Green Development Guidance for Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.
