The environmental and human rights costs of China’s overseas clean energy investments

Liu Bingyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, rejected the idea that Chinese investments violate people’s rights. In an email, Liu said the country’s Belt and Road Initiative, an umbrella for its overseas infrastructure investments, aims to support green economic growth.

“The founding goal of the Belt and Road Initiative is to strengthen China’s cooperation with partner countries by following the principle of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, to help them develop the economy and get rid of poverty, which is a human right they need more than any other,” Liu said.

In Hungary, academics and environmental activists say investments have been accelerated by lax oversight and quick licensing. Orbán’s government abolished the country’s environment ministry after coming to power in 2010, and has cracked down on wider protests and opposition.

After Cozma began speaking out about the battery factories, she became the target of smear campaigns on social media and state-backed news sites, which she said were acting on behalf of foreign agents and against the interest of citizens.

But she didn’t back down. As the meeting at the community center last month came to a close, and dance music blared through the door from a room down the hall, Kuzma spoke in a defiant tone, looking to attract more people to her cause.

“What the authorities want is to make people think that they are small and that they cannot do anything,” she said. Kuzma added: “If you care about it, you are an agent and a traitor. Do you want to defend yourself? You are just a little piece of dust.” “I will defend you.”

Battery giant next door

The next morning, Kuzma drove her red Fiat down a dirt road that dead-ended at the railroad tracks. Joined by Tibor Nemes, Vice President of Mikepércs Group, they described how the tracks used to carry a regional line until authorities stopped the service because they cut off 546 acres for CATL.

The factory sprawls across a series of giant, windowless warehouse-style buildings that actually stretch a half-mile. Next to those muddy lands are where more buildings are planned. The site is surrounded by other factories that make cathodes, aluminum caps, battery separation membranes and gases, all for the electric vehicle industry. Just a few years ago, this was farmland.