The Belt and Road Initiative is an ambitious project expanding China’s trade and industrial reach into the rest of Asia and the world. 126 countries home to some 1.1 billion people have signed on as partners to the initiative.

Building all that new infrastructure and spurring industrial development, commerce, and international trade along the Belt and Road has raised concerns about energy and the potential for a huge increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should fossil fuels be the Belt and Road’s primary energy resource.
The researchers see a cost-effective, more sustainable, clean energy alternative. Solar power could serve as an alternative to coal. An international team led by Chinese researchers found that tapping solar energy and improving cross-border cooperation could help countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) leapfrog into a low-carbon future.

Solar energy is abundant across the BRI region and is a sustainable energy alternative with regard to mitigating the rise in GHG emissions and warming global mean temperatures. The Belt and Road Initiative is an opportunity as it sets up a framework for collaborations between countries,associations, and industries to happen. Solar energy could also unleash enormous potential in this process.