西方支持的多边开发银行(Multilateral Development Banks, MDBs)大谈“从数十亿增加到数万亿”美元以实现“可持续发展目标”(Sustainable Development Goals)以及巴黎气候协定(Paris Climate Agreement)，以帮助世界经济转向一个低碳、更具社会包容性、更公平的未来。
The Western-backed Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are talking a lot about moving ‘from billions to trillions’ of dollars to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Climate Agreement that aim to shift the world economy to a low-carbon and more socially inclusive and equitable future.
这些多边开发银行光说不练，因为它们一直没有增加自身的实缴资本以实现雄心勃勃的可持续发展目标。相比之下，中国的开发银行做了一些实事——但方向不是特别正确。在9月举办20国集团(G20)峰会之际，中国将准备好在可持续发展方面协调自己的口号与行动。
The MDBs talk the talk but do not walk the walk given that they have not increased their paid-in capital to meet the ambitious goals of the SDGs. By contrast, China’s development banks have been doing the walking—but not quite in the right direction. As it hosts the G-20 in September, China is poised to match words and action on sustainable development.
根据最新估算，自2007年以来，中国的两家政策性银行——中国国家开发银行(China Development Bank)和中国进出口银行(Export Import Bank of China)——给予发展中国家的海外融资已经翻了一番，达到约6840亿美元，接近世界银行(World Bank)、美洲开发银行(Inter-American Development Bank)、非洲开发银行(African Development Bank)及亚洲开发银行(Asian Development Bank)共计发放的7000亿美元。
According to new estimates, China’s two policy banks, the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), have doubled the amount of overseas financing to developing countries since 2007 — to roughly $684bn versus close to $700bn by the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, African Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank combined.
这还不算，中国的银行在世界各地设立了总计1160亿美元的区域基金，包括为非洲设立220亿美元基金以及为拉美设立370亿美元基金，以帮助这些地区的国家建设基础设施和工业园区。
What is more, China’s banks have set up another $116bn in regional funds across the world, including $22bn in funds for Africa and $37bn for Latin America to help these countries build infrastructure and industrial parks.
“一带一路”(One Belt, One Road)倡议是中国遥遥领先的最大计划，这项中国版“马歇尔计划”(Marshall Plan)将在古丝绸之路沿线及其他地区建设基础设施和能源项目。中国已成立了规模达400亿美元的丝路基金(Silk Road Fund)，而且还将投入48亿美元确保这些项目不会对环境造成破坏。在绿色金融方面，中国建立了气候变化南南合作基金(China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund)，并承诺先期投入32亿美元。
By far China’s biggest program is the Belt Road Initiative — China’s ‘Marshall Plan’ which will build infrastructure and energy across and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes. China has established a Silk Road Fund of $40bn, with another $4.8bn to ensure that the projects are environmentally sound. In terms of green finance, China has established a South South Climate Fund with initial pledge of $3.2bn.
更引人瞩目的是，中国还协助创立（并注资）两家新的多边开发银行——由“金砖国家”（巴西、俄罗斯、印度、中国和南非）组建的新开发银行(New Development Bank)以及亚洲基础设施投资银行(Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank)。的确，新开发银行自称为一家“可持续基础设施投资银行”，该行首批贷款全部投向了清洁能源项目。
To great fanfare, China has also helped establish and capitalize two new MDBs in the New Development Bank (NDB) comprising of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Indeed, the NDB has dubbed itself a ‘sustainable infrastructure bank’ and its first group of loans has all gone into clean energy projects.
西方支持的多边开发银行的功劳在于，它们帮助改变了发展金融的模式——新模式不再将发展与环境可持续性以及社会包容性隔离开来。多数多边开发银行都禁止为燃煤电厂提供融资，除非当地的穷人别无他选。今年4月，大多数多边开发银行还承诺调整放贷计划，拟将约三分之一的贷款投入减缓和适应气候变化的项目。
The Western-backed MDBs should be credited for helping to change the narrative on development finance, a narrative that no longer separates development from environmental sustainability and social inclusion. Most of the MDBs prohibit the financing of coal-fired power plants unless there are few other options for the poor. In April of this year, most of the MDBs also committed to reshape their lending books so that about one third of their loans go to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
然而到目前为止，这些多边开发银行未曾投入任何新的资本，以便把他们的数十亿美元撬动成所需的数万亿美元。在大宗商品及经济增长繁荣期间（2003年至2013年），许多发展中国家积累了巨额的外汇储备，它们推动增加多边开发银行的资本基础——而且在这样做的同时不危及美国及其他西方国家在投票决策方面的绝对多数。即便如此，西方还是不愿提供新的资本。
To date however, the MDBs have not committed any new capital to leverage their billions to the trillions that are needed. During the commodity and growth boom from 2003 to 2013 many developing countries accumulated massive reserves and pushed to increase the base capital of the MDBs — and in doing so not jeopardizing the supermajority of the United States and other Western powers in voting decisions. Even under such conditions the West balked at providing new capital.
如今，随着世界经济（尤其是发展中国家）增速放缓，西方支持的多边开发银行在本应增加输送资金之际卡住资金喉咙。
Now as the world economy, and developing countries in particular, are slowing down, the Western-backed MDBs are holding back finance at exactly the time they should be increasing it.
全球金融危机过后，多边开发银行变得受制于信用评级机构，因为维持AAA评级对于它们筹集新资金并为发展事业提供廉价贷款非常重要，但评级机构警告称，多边开发银行的许多借款方正变得风险过高。正如克里斯•汉弗莱(Chris Humphrey)所指出的，多边开发银行的高管们称，“以前，我们严格根据需要和吸收能力分配我们的资源。但逐渐地，标准普尔(S&P)的方法已成为我们分配决策的主要驱动因素。”
In the wake of the financial crisis the MDBs have become beholden to the credit rating agencies—as maintaining AAA ratings is the key for MDBs to raise new funds and provide cheaper loans for development—and the agencies have warned that many of the MDB’s borrowers are becoming too risky. As noted by Chris Humphrey, MDB executives have been quoted as saying that “formerly we assigned our resources strictly based on need and absorption capacity. But bit by bit the S&P methodology has become the main driver of our allocation decisions.”
话虽如此，围绕“从数十亿美元增加到数万亿美元”的讨论不得不更加关注融资质量，而非数量。中国的银行提供的资金大幅增加，但它们尚未全面拥抱可持续发展目标。波士顿大学(Boston University)一项新的研究表明，自2007年以来，中国的两家开发银行向发展中国家提供了逾1170亿美元的能源融资——与世界银行及各地区开发银行提供融资的总和相差无几。
All that said, the discussion about ‘billions to trillions’ has to be more about the quality of finance than the quantity. China’s banks are doubling down on quantity, but are yet to fully embrace the SDGs. A new Boston University study shows that China’s two development banks have provided upwards of $117bn in energy finance to developing countries since 2007 — about as much as the World Bank and regional development banks combined.
然而，中国提供的融资绝大部分投向了石油及天然气勘探，还有更多投向了发电厂——其中66%是燃煤电厂。保守估计这些燃煤电厂排放对气候及当地人口健康造成的代价，我们认为，这些中国资助的海外燃煤电厂每年造成的社会成本达297亿美元。
However, the vast majority of that finance is in oil and gas exploration and even more in power plants — 66 per cent of which are coal fired power plants. Using conservative estimates of the climate and local health costs of those coal plant emissions, the we calculate that the yearly social cost of Chinese overseas coal-fired power plants amounts to $29.7bn.
假如一座发电厂的运营年限是30年，其带来的社会总成本可能达1170亿美元至8920亿美元。能源领域27%的中国发展融资投向水力发电，但此类项目往往规模巨大，引发与当地社区以及全球原住民权利和环保倡导者之间的冲突。
Assuming a power plant lifetime of 30 years, total social cost could range from $117bn to $892bn. Twenty seven per cent of Chinese development finance in energy goes to hydropower, but often such projects are massive ones that have led to conflicts with local communities and global advocates for indigenous rights and the environment.
多边开发银行总是在讨论，却不付诸行动。中国的银行在行动，却没有进行充分讨论。作为世界首家可持续基础设施投资银行，新开发银行就可持续金融而言向正确方向迈出一步，但目前尚不清楚该行在社会包容方面是否有强有力的保障措施。
The MDBs are talking the talk but not walking the walk. China’s banks are walking the walk but not fully talking the talk. The New Development Bank, as the world’s first sustainable infrastructure bank, is a step in the right direction in terms of sustainable finance but it is not yet clear whether they NDB has strong safeguards for social inclusion.
如果中国希望在举办今年的G20峰会时真正有所作为，中国可以以身作则，不仅提供最大规模的发展融资，还提供符合可持续发展目标以及巴黎气候协定的最优质的海外发展融资。如果中国带头的话，此类行动将迫使西方国家效仿。
If China wanted to make a real mark as it hosts this year’s G-20 meetings, it could lead by example by not only providing the highest quantity of development finance, but the best quality overseas development finance in accordance with the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. If China takes the lead, such action will pressure the West to follow.