US State Dept report accuses China of threatening global economy with environmental abuse

Amid soaring tensions, the United States has accused China of threatening the global economy by exploiting natural resources through its One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. In a report titled ‘China’s Environmental Abuses Fact Sheet’, the US State Department said that even though the Chinese Communist Party claims of a zero-tolerance policy towards a range of activities, Beijing is “largest emitter” of the greenhouse gases. 

US State Department said, “Beijing is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases; the largest source of marine debris; the worst perpetrators of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; and the world’s largest consumer of trafficked wildlife and timber products."

"While the Chinese people have suffered the worst environmental impacts of its actions, Beijing also threatens the global economy and global health by unsustainably exploiting natural resources and exporting its willful disregard for the environment through its One Belt One Road initiative,” the report added.

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'OBOR lacks climate guidelines': US

Further targeting the Asian superpower over the OBOR project, more commonly known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the US Department of State said that the implementation lacks clear environmental guidelines and safety protections. The report also adds that many BRI-funded projects do not meet with the global standards that would leave the nations with harmful consequences in the long run.

The report notes that the project “aspires to create a network of enhanced overland and maritime trade routes to better link China with the world. However, the implementation of BRI lacks clear environmental guidelines, safety standards, and worker protections”.

“Many BRI-funded projects do not meet international standards, leaving countries to deal with the harmful consequences long after a project is completed. Environmental safeguards depend on the laws of host countries, and Beijing is leading nations away from developing their economies sustainably,” it added.

The US also raised concerns over China’s contribution to the greenhouse gases and said that the latter has been the world’s largest annual greenhouse emitted since 2006. Noting that it is twice that of the US, the report added that it amounts to nearly one-third of the global emissions. 

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