The G7 countries have agreed to launch an international Build Back Better World initiative to build infrastructure in developing countries.
The need to create such an infrastructure is estimated at more than $ 40 trillion. This is stated in a message on the White House website.
Key trends of the G7 countries’ initiative
The main principles of the initiative are named:
– transparency of financing;
– Compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate;
– mobilization of private capital.
“This means that countries that support the G7 initiative will have greater access to funding for low-carbon projects such as wind farms and railways,” notes the Financial Times.
The G7 Initiative is a Western competitor to China’s New Silk Road, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative.
“US President Joe Biden has called for a new source of infrastructure finance for poor countries, creating a ‘democratic’ alternative to Chinese loans, which the West sees as a tool for spreading Beijing’s influence,” writes the Financial Times. “Some officials described the initiative as a ‘green Marshall plan’, but on a smaller scale.”
Under the initiative, funds will be directed to projects in the areas of climate change, health, digital technologies and gender equality.
According to one senior US official, the United States and many of the country’s partners and friends around the world have long been skeptical of China’s initiative.
According to him, the Chinese authorities demonstrated “lack of transparency, low environmental and labor standards, and an approach that made the situation worse for many countries.”
“So far, however, we have not offered a positive alternative that shows our values, standards, and the way we do business,” he said.
China’s reaction
The PRC criticized the G7 countries, pointing out that “truly multilateral relations” are based on the activities of the UN.
“The time when global decisions were dictated by a small group of countries is long gone,” said a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London.
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However, environmental organizations have criticized the initiative for lack of information on how it will work and how it will be funded.
Previously
The media have already written that inequality is growing in the world. But the growth drivers of the world economy will be deferred demand in China and large-scale cash infusions into the US economy.
