The primary contradiction with adherence to green finance and BRI projects is the large amount of lending by Chinese banks for coal fired power plants. In contrast, Western financial institutions have limited or prohibited financing of coal fired power plants starting with the World Bank and European Investment Bank in 2013. State owned Chinese commercial banks have shown a willingness to limit coal projects. In 2017, ICBC and China Construction Bank decided to not fund the Carmichael coal mine after environmental protests by the Australian public.
