Experts stressed the needs to achieve goals within a set time frame
Carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality were one of the major talking points at this year's meeting of China’s two major political bodies – the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that began on March 5.
Li Daokui, a CPPCC delegate and director of the Institute for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking (ACCEPT), Tsinghua University, put forward his proposals on carbon taxation and the establishment of a national unified market for carbon emissions on the meeting.
The so-called national unified carbon market means that all regions and sectors should pay the same unit cost for direct or indirect carbon emissions, Li, who is the founding dean of Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua, told government leaders and fellow delegates at the “two sessions,” arguably China’s most important annual meetings of the top legislature and political advisory body.
He added that they will all receive the same price for carbon emissions from carbon sinks or carbon capture.
He suggested that the efforts to reduce emissions nationally should be made in the areas and regions where the cost of carbon reduction is lowest, rather than dictating the same directives to all sectors across the country.
And the formation of such a carbon trading market is key to providing a national standard for a uniform carbon price, Li explained.
In addition, he further proposed for the unified carbon emissions tax, recommending that it be levied directly on emitters, such as coal mines, oil and gas fields, and importers of crude oil and natural gas. Nonetheless, they could be subject to a relatively low carbon emission tax rate, Li added.
"A major advantage of introducing carbon tax is to win the initiative in the international arena, and reduce the impact of overseas policies on export," Li noted.
As the world’s largest annual carbon emitter, China has put forward the country’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2020: reaching the national peak carbon emissions within ten years, along with a commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
“These are our solemn commitments to the international community and must be implemented with determination,” said Li.