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The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a significant focal point in the construction of a human community with a shared future. However, many BRI partner countries are located in climate-sensitive areas. There are doubts and criticisms about the BRI, suggesting that its infrastructure projects might increase the vulnerability to climate change in the BRI partner countries. To address this controversy, this study investigated the role of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in enhancing the ability of these countries to cope with climate change risks and examined the underlying mechanisms of this impact. Using panel data from 65 BRI partner countries spanning 2004 - 2020, the study evaluated the impact of China's OFDI on the partner countries' ability to cope with climate change risks, with the climate change vulnerability risk of each country as the explanatory variable. The findings indicated that: (J) China's OFDI in the Belt and Road region significantly mitigated the climate change vulnerability risks of the partner countries and improved their climate risk coping capacity in the context of the intensifying global climate change crisis. © The effect of China's BRI investment on reducing local climate change vulnerability risks was more significant in low- and middle-income countries, China's neighboring countries, and countries with which China had established free trade agreements. © The income growth effect and political stability effect partially explained the impact of China's BRI investments, aligning with the important concepts of sharing development results and promoting global governance under the BRI. ® China's BRI investments did not exacerbate local carbon emissions while reducing the vulnerability to climate change in the participating countries, indicating that China's BRI investments did not trigger the 'carbon emission transfer' problem blamed by Western countries, and green has always been the defining feature of the BRI. This study provides empirical support for understanding the role of China's Belt and Road Initiative and policy recommendations for further promoting the initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of carbon neutrality, the BRICS countries, representatives of emerging developing countries, have proposed their own adaptation policies and carbon emission reduction targets (CERT). Here, we sort out the evolution of their climate policies and actions over the past half-century. After piecing together their energy structures and carbon emissions from various sources and by different sectors, we see distinct energy structures diverging over time with increasing varieties of non-fossil energy. However, all the BRICS countries, except for Brazil, still rely heavily on fossil fuels, which poses a real challenge to emission reduction. After considering their diversified energy structures, we estimate their timelines for achieving the carbon neutrality goal using the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model. From the model output, we propose possible solutions to help achieve the carbon neutrality goal with respect to their individual status quo and future needs for socioeconomic development. The suggestions include reinforcing the legislation, strengthening cooperation in the fields of energy and carbon management and in core technologies for carbon emission reduction, improving the cooperation mechanisms of the BRICS countries, and further expanding all-round cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]