English

  • Strategic Shift: Improving the sustainability of China’s overseas infrastructure requires focusing on "embodied carbon" within construction materials like steel and cement.
  • Policy Opportunity: Aligning the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects provides a framework to mandate lower-carbon procurement standards.
  • Material Impact: Steel and cement account for roughly 20% of global CO2 emissions; addressing these is essential to reducing the carbon footprint of Chinese-financed projects.
  • Sourcing Disparities: While cement is typically sourced locally, steel for complex projects like railways is often imported from China, potentially carrying up to 37% more embodied carbon due to coal-based production methods.
  • Potential Savings: Research estimates that shifting procurement standards for projects financed between 2008 and 2024 could have significantly mitigated the 3.5 to 4.8 million tonnes of CO2 linked to steel usage.

中文

  • 战略转型： 提升中国海外基础设施的可持续性，关键在于关注钢铁和水泥等建筑材料中隐含的“隐含碳”。
  • 政策机遇： 将“十五五”规划（2026-2030年）与“一带一路”倡议（BRI）相结合，为强制推行低碳采购标准提供了框架。
  • 材料影响： 钢铁和水泥行业贡献了全球约20%的二氧化碳排放量；解决这些材料的碳排放对于降低中资项目的碳足迹至关重要。
  • 采购差异： 水泥通常在当地采购，但铁路等复杂项目的钢材往往从中国进口，由于国内采用煤基生产工艺，其隐含碳排放量可能高出约37%。
  • 减排潜力： 研究估计，若能优化2008年至2024年间中资项目的采购标准，可显著减少与钢材使用相关的350万至480万吨二氧化碳排放。