The 'Interim Regulations on the Management of Carbon Emissions Trading' legislation has been published. This regulation promotes China's carbon emissions market and outlines the continuation of normal operations during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
On November 12, the Ministry of Ecological Environment of China published its guidelines on Carbon Trading, marking the first relevant regulation issued since the national carbon market was launched in 2017. According to the regulation, companies that produce over 26,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually (comprehensive energy consumption over 10,000 tons of standard coal) will be involved in the market. During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period (2021 – 2025), China's carbon emissions trading market is expected to continue as previously.
The president of the Ministry of Ecological Environment of China, Li Gao, said the carbon market trials began in 2011 in seven cities in China, including Beijing and Shanghai. Over 2,800 participating companies and 11,000 relevant workers have participated in the trials, covering more than 20 sectors, such as the electric power sector and steel sector. By August 2020, the cumulative trading volume reached 406 million tons, and cumulative transaction value reached CNY 9 billion in the seven trial cities.
The Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the U.N. General Assembly’s Seventy-Fifth Session that China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. The new regulation, according to president Li Gao, would enormously advance the achievement of the goal and promote the transformation to a low-carbon economy and society.