Last week, Bloomberg News reported that the Group of Seven
nations (G7) intends to launch an alternative to China's
“Belt and Road Initiative” when they meet later this
week in Cornwall, England. The strategy is expected to be called
the “Clean Green Initiative,” and the hope is that it
will provide a framework to support sustainable development in
developing countries. While discussion of the global minimum tax
will dominate the headlines at G7, “Clean Green” is an
important development with ramifications for U.S. and multinational
energy companies.
The Belt and Road Initiative is a massive infrastructure project
spanning from East Asia to Europe, which seeks to create a network
of railways, pipelines, border crossings, maritime shipping routes,
and special economic zones. Over 60 countries have signed on to
Belt and Road projects, and more than 100 have expressed interest.
Critics, however, contend that Belt and Road is “debt trap
diplomacy,” using low-interest
