How to Balance FDI and Environmental Protection Under the Belt and Road Initiative
- DOI
- 10.2991/assehr.k.200826.185How to use a DOI?
- Keywords
- Belt and Road Initiative, Foreign direct investment, Environmental protection
- Abstract
Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, the debate over how to balance foreign direct investment and environmental protection has been enduring for a long time. This article examines the environmental problems from the perspective of the host state and foreign investors. Host state relaxes domestic environment law while the economy-orient investor lack external constraints, making the local environment worse. It concludes that the inclusion of environmental protection clauses in international investment treaties may be the best solution, although a more rigorous law may also play a role (if it is ignored, it may leave the host country at a competitive disadvantage). After analyzing 2577 international investment treaties, we find that adding the environmental provisions into international investment agreements can guarantee the legal right of the host state and force investors to undertake its social responsibility. The article calls on the host state to encourage investment without relaxing domestic law and add more environmental provisions in international investment agreements, especially emphasizing corporate social responsibility.
- Copyright
- © 2020, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.
- Open Access
- This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
Cite this article
TY - CONF AU - Guo Shiyu PY - 2020 DA - 2020/08/28 TI - How to Balance FDI and Environmental Protection Under the Belt and Road Initiative BT - Proceedings of the 2020 4th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2020) PB - Atlantis Press SP - 902 EP - 906 SN - 2352-5398 UR - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200826.185 DO - 10.2991/assehr.k.200826.185 ID - Shiyu2020 ER -