Air Quality Improvement in the Greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region--China National Investment (ADB-50096-002)

Regions
  • East Asia and Pacific
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • China
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Beijing, Hebei, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Shandong, Shanxi, Tianjin
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Closed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 12, 2016
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
China National Investment and Guaranty Corporation, State Development & Investment Corporation
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 499.60 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 2,137.10 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Jun 24, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Dec 12, 2016


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

The proposed project will establish a dedicated green financing platform for this purpose which will overcome the three barriers mentioned above (limited commercial bank financing, lack of incentive structures, and the lack of strategy for pollution control). The proposed Green Financing Platform (GFP) will introduce innovative financial instruments, recommended in the recently issued Green Financing Guidelines by China Banking Regulatory Commission and NDRC, to mobilize private and social capital for green investments. The proposed financing facility will offer a variety of financial products, which may include: (i) debt financing with limited recourse to fixed asset collateral; (ii) loss guarantee support to low-carbon development, energy saving, and environmental improvement projects for easier access to commercial bank financing; and (iii) mezzanine financing in the form of subordinate debt or preference share investments in promising SMEs, etc. This proposed project will also introduce international experience and bring advance technologies to the greater BTH region to help industries become low-carbon, low-emission and efficient green industries, thereby improving the air quality.

The proposed project builds on the policy actions initiated in Hebei Province under the Policy Based Loan (PBL) for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) Air Quality Improvement Hebei Policy Reforms Program, approved by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2015. The PBL included policy actions supporting (i) adjustment of the energy structure, (ii) promotion of public transportation, (iii) reduction of seasonal biomass burning and promotion of clean energy in rural area, (iv) capacity development in environmental monitoring, administration and supervision, and (v) employment promotion for inclusive industrial transformation. The proposed project will further (i) strengthen and complement implementation of these policy actions throughout the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (hereinafter referred to as BTH region), and (ii) accelerate air quality improvements in a sustainable manner. In particular, it will address the critical need to provide more efficient and effective credit access to enterprises and project developers to stimulate actions on these policy actions. The intervention will be in the core areas for air quality improvement with significant co-benefits of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reductions to help the region simultaneously achieve both objectives of better air quality and low-carbon development.

The BTH region is one of the most important economic regions in the PRC, with more than a third of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). But this region also consistently experiences poor air quality. In 2013, the Government of the PRC promulgated its first Comprehensive Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control (CAAP) 2013 2017 to help improve air quality in the core BTH region. But the BTH air quality is still far below national and World Health Organization standards. Since BTH's air pollution problem is transboundary, an integrated approach is required to tackle the air pollution issues in the BTH region. The approach includes advanced and effective pollution control measures with efficient coordination among BTH, stricter environmental policy and regulation, innovative financing mechanisms, and a robust results monitoring and verification system.

In parallel with the efforts to control air pollution and respond to environmental degradation, the PRC government is committed to peak its CO2 emission by 2030. Maintaining sustainable economic development while also undertaking low-carbon transformation and fixing environmental degradation is challenging. In order to succeed, a set of complementary policies is needed to improve air quality (by reducing coal and other fossil fuel consumption), abate CO2 emissions, and foster green growth. The Government's policy framework for climate change, National Plan for Addressing Climate Change (2014-2020) was issued in 2014, and stresses the importance of mitigating climate change through a holistic and integrated approach, including improving energy efficiency, optimizing the energy consumption structure, restructuring the industrial sector, and restoring the ecological system and protecting the environment.

According to the People's Bank of China, an annual investment of $330 billion in each of the next five years would be needed for green growth in order to meet the environmental targets announced by the Ministry of Environment. Based on a report prepared by the Clean Air Alliance of China, implementation of CAAP for core BTH region will need direct investment of $37.8 billion. As of 2013 and 2014, the dedicated financial support from the central government was only $0.76 billion and $1.52 billion. Although the core BTH region is getting support from ADB and Kreditanstalt f r Wiederaufbau's (KfW) for the approved PBL and the World Bank's for the Program-for-Results financing assistance, serious financing shortage and limited financing resource hinder the green growth and low-carbon transformation for the BTH region.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The ADB categorized the project E&S risks as 'FI'.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

Counterpart: US$ 1327.5 Million

Financial Intermediary
A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by Bloomberg, Ping An Bank Co., Ltd. provides commercial banking services. The Company offers deposit services, loan services, bill services, settlement services, credit card services, international banking, online banking, and other related services. Ping An Bank provides services in China.

Bank of Beijing Co., Ltd. operates as a commercial bank. The Company offers deposits, loans, settlement, bill discounting, government bonds underwriting, trade finance, investment banking, wealth management, asset custody, and fund services. Bank of Beijing provides services for enterprises and individuals.
 
State Development & Investment Corp.,Ltd. engages in electricity generation. The Company operates coal power, hydropower, wind power, and other power generation plants. State Development & Investment also offers trading, financial services, bioenergy, big data, environmental protection, and other services.
 
China National Investment And Guaranty Corporation provides investment services. The Company offers capital investment, investment planning, investment consulting, and other services. China National Investment And Guaranty also operates guarantee, asset management, and other businesses.
Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Bank of Beijing Co. Ltd. Investor Finance
- - - - Huaxia Bank Investor Finance

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

China National Investment and Guaranty Corporation
9 Floor, Office Bldg,
No. 100 Xisanhuan Beilu,
Huadian District,
Beijing, PRC 100048

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main

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