UN Climate Action News reported August 3 that China is about to launch the biggest national carbon trading scheme in the world, as an attempt to meet 2030 peak emissions target.
The second largest emitter in the world, the country entered the final stage of the scheme’s preparation last July – a project it has been working on since 2013 with the help of seven provincial pilot schemes. The market will be unprecedented in its scale and complexity, and is expected to officially launch by November 2017.
The pilot schemes operate in Beijing, Chongqing, Guangdong, Hubei, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin, which together account for approximately 25% of the national GDP. Building on these pilot schemes, China has envisioned setting up a national one, so far only covering three industries- power, cement and aluminum.
The big challenge that China faces is how to incorporate these seven pilot schemes into a nationwide regime, considering the carbon price disparity between the pilot schemes, their varying features and different performance results.
In addition, significant challenges lie in terms of proper measurement, reporting and verification of all the emissions data.
Analysts are confident that regulations will be enforced to secure transparency and efficiency since the Chinese leadership has shown strong political will in the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy.