Victoria Kwakwa, vice-president for East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank, talks about development lending in the Asia Pacific region in a seminar held at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Monday. Chen Weihua/China Daily The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is upholding high environmental and social standards, according to a World Bank official. Victoria Kwakwa, vice-president for East Asia and Pacific Region of the World Bank, said on Monday that the standards set by the AIIB are just like the standards of other multilateral development banks. A lot of it was input by former World Bank staff, so they have very high standards, she said of the AIIB. Both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank worked well with the AIIB, she said. We don't see any issues in the work we do with them or their commitment to keeping high standards, Kwakwa told China Daily on Monday after a talk on development lending in the Asia Pacific held at the Brookings Institution in Washington. She said that the World Bank is working in strong partnership with the Beijing-headquartered AIIB and Shanghai-headquartered New Development Bank (NDB) in leveraging each side's competitive advantage. The World Bank and the AIIB have co-financed infrastructure in Indonesia. Kwakwa said the two are working on upcoming projects in the Philippines and other East Asian nations. The Manila Times, quoting the Philippine department of finance, reported on Monday that the AIIB this week may approve $150 million to co-finance with the World Bank a Philippine project to improve flood management in Metro Manila. Kwakwa said that the World Bank has also been discussing some projects with the NDB although they are not yet finalized. To Kwakwa, having more multilateral development banks is just a reflection of the multilateral world today. It brings more developing financing to the table in the context that a lot more is needed than traditional sources can provide, she said, adding that more partners coming together makes it possible to tackle complex and large operations, sharing the risk and burden. Unlike some who worry about a race to the bottom with the new arrivals, Kwakwa said she doesn't see this as a strong possibility because there is so much to do and so much need for financing. It's a theoretical possibility, but highly unlikely, she said of a race to the bottom. Hongying Wang, an associate professor of political science at University of Waterloo, said there is room for the new development banks to complement the legacy banks given the huge need in infrastructure financing in the Asia Pacific. I have no doubt that with AIIB and NDB, China will follow most of these practices, she said. [email protected]silicone bracelets ukcool wristbandssilicone braceletscheap custom wristbandsbat fidget spinner
Largest market will be accessible to 1,700 companies, 3.3b metric tonsChina started the world's largest carbon trading system on Tuesday, sending strong signals that it plans to use the market as a key policy tool to curb emissions and also is keeping its Paris Agreement commitments.The nationwide carbon market, which is built upon seven pilot programs implemented since 2013, will be open only to the power generation sector during its early phase, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.Still, it is expected to exceed the European Union's market, with more than 1,700 power generation enterprises producing 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon expected to be involved, according to the commission.The power sector accounts for about one-third of China's carbon dioxide emissions.Zhang Yong, vice-minister of the commission, said the introduction of the nationwide market shows China is delivering on its Paris Agreement promises.China pledged to peak carbon emissions by the end of 2030 in the Paris pact sealed in 2015.Putting a price on carbon will propel market players to further cut carbon emissions, as they have to consider those costs in making future investment and production decisions, according to Jiang Zhaoli, deputy director of the commission's Department of Climate Change.China will not introduce financial products such as carbon futures in the early stage as some other countries did because speculative behavior will do more harm than good in encouraging actual carbon reduction, according to Jiang.The initial benchmark for market inclusion is set at 26,000 metric tons of carbon or above a year.Firms involved that plan to emit more carbon should reduce emissions or buy spare credits from other companies, and those with extra allowances can sell or keep them for future use.While creating the market is a milestone, much needs to be done to make it a success in coming years, experts said.Transparency and public participation will be crucial for it to be an important incentive for carbon reduction, according to Femke de Jong, policy director of Carbon Market Watch.Liu Shuang, director of the Low Carbon Economic Growth Program with the Energy Foundation China, said improvements will be needed for a stronger legal basis, a more stringent cap and better allocation."For immediate next steps, it is essential for regulators to set up a reviewing mechanism to carefully monitor operational progress and collect data in a timely way to inform the design and decision-making for the next phases," she said.The government has set a three-year road map for gradually improving the framework before allowing real transactions. Real transactions are expected to take place in 2020.
