In 2014, a Chinese-financed company, Société Minière de Boké (SMB), obtained three mining concessions to exploit bauxite reserves in Boké, Guinea. Since then, SMB has had a tumultuous history working in Boké, with local residents complaining of excessive dust, depleted and polluted freshwater sources, a reduction in farming capacity due to pollution and lack of fresh water, and adverse health impacts.

SMB’s operations in Guinea raise important questions about the Chinese leadership’s commitment to green and sustainable development in China’s overseas projects.

This case study focuses on how local and international civil society organizations and public interest lawyers use legal instruments to ensure Chinese investors and the Guinean government comply with the laws of Guinea (as the host country of Chinese investments), of China (the home country), and international laws. Specifically, this case study shows how civil society organizations have been able to combat SMB’s plan to use coal as an energy source by recourse to a number of legal strategies. More broadly, it demonstrates how non-state actors can use the law to hold Chinese investors accountable for environmental harms inflicted on host states, particularly those in the Global South.