China will launch on 1 February its own domestic market for "pollution rights". This is a system through which companies will be required to pay according to the emissions of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of their activities. A mechanism similar to the Emissions Trading System (ETS) that has been adopted within the European Union for a number of years.

Climate Home News @ClimateHome

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China’s national emissions trading scheme could become a significant lever for climate action, but experts warn that it will do little to curb emissions in the short term.

climatechangenews.com/2021/01/07/chi…

♥ 3 17 gen 2021 · Apri su X →

The CO2 market will have to act as a deterrent

This is a development that could potentially reshape the production methods of the Asian economic giant in a profound way, persuading companies to adopt more stringent environmental and climate standards. Those with a better track record will in fact be able to sell their unused allowances to others, theoretically triggering a virtuous cycle. Theoretically, because everything will depend on the effectiveness of this emissions trading system. The European ETS itself, indeed, was long criticised by non-governmental organisations (and others), since the costs of "pollution rights" — determined by market dynamics — were deemed negligible. The result was that the need for companies to acquire such allowances did not act as a deterrent.

In China's case in particular, the system will need to be capable of steering the nation towards the climate target it has set itself — namely achieving carbon neutrality, the elimination of net CO2 emissions, by 2060. At present, however, 60% of China's energy production remains tied to coal, the fossil fuel that is by far the most harmful in terms of climate-altering emissions. It is likely, in this respect, that the Chinese government will face strong pressure from major corporate groups, which will call for costs not to be imposed too suddenly and too heavily on their businesses.

China International Import Expo ✓ @ciieonline

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Coal imports totaled 39.08 million tons in December 2020, up 234.8 percent from a month earlier and skyrocketing from only 2.77 million tons in December in 2019, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. #CIIE fal.cn/3cPcz

♥ 4 19 gen 2021 · Apri su X →

China remains heavily dependent on coal

China's emissions market will, in any case, apply solely to the energy sector. It is estimated that it could end up covering around one third of the Asian nation's greenhouse gas emissions. What is certain, therefore, is that the system alone will not be sufficient to allow Beijing to play its full part in the fight against climate change. This is especially true given that China alone emitted, in 2019, 29 per cent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere worldwide — equivalent to 14 billion tonnes of CO2.