BEIJING: In a move to further tap the potential of market mechanisms in promoting low-carbon transformation, China’s national carbon market will launch online trading this month, Zhao Yingmin, vice-minister of ecology and environment, said on Wednesday.
The decision to launch online trading was made at an executive meeting of the State Council, the country’s Cabinet, on July 7, Zhao told a news conference organized by the council’s information office.
The national program currently involves over 2,000 companies in the power generation sector that emit over 4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year, he said.
“The sector is a major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions in the country and also a major coal consumer,” he said. “Including the sector in the market first will help yield synergistic results in pollution control and carbon emissions reduction.”
Adequate emission monitoring facilities in the power generation industry guarantee accurate data, which is key for the market’s operation, Zhao said.
He said the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has conducted data collection, reporting and verification for years in seven other major carbon-emitting industries, including steel, chemicals and papermaking, in preparation for the extension of the national carbon market.
Carbon trading is the process of buying and selling permits to emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
Designated emitters will be given the right to release a certain amount of greenhouse gases. At the end of each cycle, emitters will have to buy unused permits from the market if they emit more than the amount they are allowed.
– The Daily Mail-China Daily News exchange item
