Tag: foreign direct investment

No New Coal: A Shift in the Composition of China’s Overseas Power Plant Portfolio?

 In September 2021, Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged that China would stop financing new overseas coal-fired power plants and instead pledged to ramp up support for renewable energy projects. This announcement marked an important shift in China’s global energy policy, with potential to fill the glaring gaps in the financing necessary for the energy […]

Political Coalitions for the Energy Transition? How Foreign Companies are Shaping Renewable Energy Policymaking in the Global South

By Ishana Ratan Low- and middle-income countries face the dual goals of decarbonization and development. It might be expected that among these countries, those with a higher share of foreign direct investment (FDI) in renewable energy will lead in the energy transition. In renewable energy, foreign companies can bring skills, technology and capital to markets […]

Chasing the Sun: The Political Economy of Solar Investment in the Global South

Foreign direct investment is often cited as critical for renewable energy growth in low- and middle-income countries.  However, despite the promise of foreign investment, countries like Colombia capable of quickly scaling up solar are still facing an energy crisis. Why has solar installation slowed in countries with experienced foreign investors, but continues to steadily grow […]

Chinese Investment in Africa: A Double-Edged Sword for Low-carbon Industrialization

By Keyi Tang, Solomon Owusu and Gideon Ndubuisi China’s economic ties with Africa have grown significantly since the early 2000s. China is currently the largest bilateral trading partner and top export destination for most countries in Africa, and since 2013, China has become the largest bilateral provider of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa. However, […]

Trends in Trade and Investment: China and Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021

By Zara C. Albright In 2021, for the second year in a row, China and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) agreed to no new official financing commitments from the China Development Bank (CDB) or the Export-Import Bank of China (CHEXIM). Rather, the China-Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Bulletin, 2022 edition, published by the […]

Assessing the Climate Change Exposure of Foreign Direct Investment

Physical climate risks, defined as risks arising from the physical effects of climate change, increasingly affect facilities worldwide across industries including foreign assets, or foreign direct investment (FDI). Despite the increasing impact of physical climate risks on firms and facilities globally, little is known about how multinational companies incorporate such risks into their overseas investment […]

The Effect of Foreign Investment on Asian Coal Power Plants

Generating 38.5 percent of the global electricity supply, coal-fired power plants are the largest contributors to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the power sector. The development of these plants represents the tradeoffs and tensions between expanding and improving electricity supply, while reducing CO2 emissions, as embodied in the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal […]