China News Agency, Beijing, June 2, Question: How does China create a carbon market for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction?
China News Agency reporter Ruan Yulin
The greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction market is an important part of China's carbon trading system, and it is also an important tool to achieve the "dual carbon" goal with lower cost and higher efficiency. The current national certified voluntary emission reduction (CCER) market is expected to restart. How does China create a carbon market for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction?
Effectively promote the optimization of energy structure
CCER is a complementary option for low-cost compliance in the national carbon emissions trading market, and is required by any business and activity willing to reduce emissions or achieve carbon neutrality.
In order to mobilize the enthusiasm of the whole society to consciously participate in carbon emission reduction activities, reflect the social responsibility and low-carbon development needs of transaction entities, and promote the low-carbonization of energy consumption and industrial structure, China established a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading mechanism in 2012.
The white paper "China's Policies and Actions to Address Climate Change" released in October 2021 pointed out that as of September 30, 2021, the cumulative transaction volume of voluntary emission reduction transactions exceeded 334 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and the transaction value exceeded 2.951 billion yuan. CCER It has been used to offset the payment of allowances or cancel the public welfare in the pilot market of carbon emission trading, effectively promoting the optimization of the energy structure and ecological protection compensation.
Zhang Xin, chief economist of the National Climate Change Strategy Research and International Cooperation Center, recently told a reporter from China News Agency that the greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism, like the carbon emission trading mechanism, is to promote the realization of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Important carbon reduction policy tool.
Based on this basic positioning, the voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism covers many types of projects and radiates a wider range of industries and enterprises, which forms a diversified carbon market mechanism based on the voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism.
How to build a voluntary carbon emission reduction market?
Zhang Xin said that CCER is the national certified emission reduction of the greenhouse gas voluntary emission reduction trading system. In order to provide more credible and high-quality CCER, first of all, it is necessary to ensure that on the basis of complying with international principles, based on national conditions, further Standardize the validation of voluntary emission reduction projects and the verification of emission reductions to ensure the quality of carbon emission data and CCER.
Secondly, it is necessary to strengthen the management of the verification and verification technical service institutions to ensure the effective supervision of the entire project verification and emission reduction verification link.
It is necessary to give full play to the incentive role of the market mechanism and find a reasonable price for CCER, which will bring more economic incentives to enterprises that voluntarily participate in emission reduction activities.
At the same time, further strengthen the construction of the information disclosure system of the entire system, including the information disclosure of project owners, verification and verification technical service agencies, as well as trading platforms and registration systems, establish a joint credit reporting and punishment management mechanism, regulate transaction-related activities, and strengthen the industry. Self-discipline, form a voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism with voluntary emission reduction, voluntary development projects, voluntary trading, effective incentives and effective supervision.
"The construction of the voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism is a very important step in building China into an international carbon pricing center," Zhang Xin said. The construction of the voluntary emission reduction trading system also provides an opportunity to enhance China's right to speak in the construction of a global carbon pricing system. .
Boosting the mandatory compliance carbon market
According to the "Measures for the Administration of Carbon Emissions Trading (Trial)", CCER can be used for the annual offset payment of carbon emission allowances by key emission units covered by the national carbon emission trading market, and the offset ratio shall not exceed the amount of carbon emission allowances that should be paid off. 5%.
Some industry organizations estimate that according to the offset ratio of 5% of carbon emission quotas, the annual demand for CCER in the national carbon market is about 165 million tons.
Zhang Jianyu, executive director of the Belt and Road Green Development International Research Institute, believes that at present, buyers will tend to pay high prices for voluntary emission reductions with good environmental and social benefits, and the high quality of management is issued by emission reductions necessary condition.
At the same time, "high-quality" voluntary emission reductions are also a booster for the mandatory compliance carbon market, which can help the mandatory compliance market adjust the balance of supply and demand and help explore effective carbon prices.
Wang Naixiang, chairman of Beijing Green Exchange, said at a roundtable forum on "Voluntary Emission Reduction Market Outlook under the Dual-Carbon Target" recently that, under the guidance and support of competent authorities at all levels, Beijing Green Exchange has launched a nationwide voluntary emission reduction in 2021. Construction of registration system and transaction system.
At present, the system development is progressing in an orderly manner, and after completion, it will provide strong support for the high-quality development of China's voluntary emission reduction market.
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