Island climate change adaptation and global public goods within the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project conceptualized and developed by the Chinese state, aims to enhance international cooperation, address issues of shared regional and global concern, and create opportunities for foreign direct investment in struggling economies. The BRI can be seen as a system for supplying global public goods, including sustainable development within which issues related to climate change sit. A great many small island states and territories are participating in the BRI, particularly in its constituent 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road. However, the BRI has not yet placed sufficient focus on climate change adaptation or issues specific to small islands. Furthermore, the BRI’s conceptual basis in rhetoric of mutual dependence and a community of common destiny have not always been evident in the individual activities that have been carried out within the BRI. If the BRI’s goals are to be taken seriously, it must do more to focus on the needs and perspectives of island communities, particularly with regard to climate change adaptation. This paper presents a framework for action to strengthen the BRI’s approach to islands and climate change adaptation in terms of information sharing, scientific and technological cooperation, financial support, and capacity building within a global governance framework.