China’s carbon trading tribute act
Emissions trading can help the industry go green by putting a price on carbon, a policy that is paying off in Europe in a big way. China is looking to emulate that success in its market. Refinitiv’s Yan Qin explains what the future might hold for it
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China is the latest country to get into emissions trading, launching a nationwide market in 2021 and using several regional and local pilot projects as a springboard. Many of the details still need to be hashed out, and the low price means that it is far too soon to see any actual decarbonising impact. But we have been here before: when Europe launched its emissions trading system nearly two decades ago, the early years were plagued by low prices, a glut of pollution permits and a regulatory system that did not extract the full potential from the market. Subsequent reforms have patched loopholes and dragged the price of carbon into a window where industries are now being forced to adopt greener technologies not to fall foul of the polluter pays principle. China has taken inspiration from the EU ETS and hopes to iron out the kinks in a shorter time span.
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Yan Qin
Sam Morgan
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