{"id":60054852,"date":"2024-10-21T12:57:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T11:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60054852"},"modified":"2024-10-23T16:13:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T15:13:36","slug":"the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As you sit in a carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.sina.cn\/esg\/2023-03-09\/detail-imykhfhv3152884.d.html?from=wap\">building<\/a>, drinking a carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nestle.com.cn\/media\/pressreleases\/20220617-nestle-launches-its-first-carbon-neutral-product-in-china\">coffee<\/a> with carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s?__biz=MzU3MDQ2MDg0Mg==&amp;mid=2247570443&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=964d42242da403416f68d09c99d1f487&amp;chksm=fd63ce2d95a692a7abc6eab7812bb4b5d64684d8c6e0e1ac24b9cf639056bc724ccae39404bc&amp;scene=27\">milk<\/a> and munching on your carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.sina.com.cn\/tech\/roll\/2023-09-29\/doc-imzpiyfi1850635.shtml\">mooncake<\/a>, you open your carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbgex.com.cn\/details\/41242333848539136\">computer<\/a> and arrange the delivery of a package to a carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbgex.com.cn\/details\/41242587981418496\">locker<\/a>. Then you walk to your car, powered by a carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/new.qq.com\/rain\/a\/20230717A00TRF00\">battery<\/a>, and drive to the airport for your carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/media.huanqiu.com\/article\/45BKajgxF7G\">flight<\/a> to a carbon-neutral <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbgex.com.cn\/hdtzh\">event<\/a> &#8230; But are you really being carbon neutral?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCarbon neutrality\u201d is achieved when the CO2 released into the atmosphere by an activity is successful balanced out by an equivalent removal of CO2. If an individual, company or country can take as much CO2 out of the atmosphere as they put in, they are carbon-neutral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The term has become a buzzword in China, with many \u201ccarbon-neutral\u201d products following. But the label and statements about it have come under fire. Are the claims being made on such products genuine, or just greenwashing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other countries have been taking action: in June, Canada passed a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parl.ca\/DocumentViewer\/en\/44-1\/bill\/C-59\/royal-assent\">law<\/a> preventing companies from making unfounded environmental claims, including dubious ones of carbon neutrality; back in March, the EU sent an even clearer message, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/legislative-train\/theme-a-european-green-deal\/file-consumers-in-the-green-transition\">banning<\/a> all environmental claims based on greenhouse gas offsetting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China\u2019s carbon-neutral products all claim that status based on offsets. Products or services have long been able to get carbon neutrality certification from environmental-testing institutions, certification providers and industry associations. But in April this year, the government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.cn\/zhengce\/zhengceku\/202404\/content_6944116.htm\">banned<\/a> the use of certain words, such as \u201cverified\u201d, in carbon certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-accordion block--accordion\"><span class=\"block--accordion__title\">What is carbon offsetting?<\/span><div class=\"block--accordion__content\"><div class=\"block--accordion__content__inner\">\n<p>This refers to a company or person purchasing \u201ccarbon credits\u201d (also known as \u201coffsets\u201d) to cancel out their emissions. One credit usually corresponds to one tonne of averted CO2 emissions (because, for example, an activity was completed using renewable power rather than fossil fuels) or removed CO2 emissions (via an activity such as tree planting). Once counted and verified, these carbon credits can be traded on carbon markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The three major international offsetting mechanisms are the UN Clean Development Mechanism, the Joint Implementation, and the International Emissions Trading Mechanism. Independent mechanisms include the American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve, and Gold Standard. There are also national and regional mechanisms, such as the China Certified Emission Reductions scheme.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On 1 October, China began to implement national general <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s\/gK8x0_YRFJl-srb_iDewzg\">standards<\/a> for product carbon-footprint accounting. This will lead to the preparation of accounting standards for various products. Carbon labels, including carbon-neutral labels, will also become more standardised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-farewell-to-carbon-neutral-labelling\">Farewell to carbon-neutral labelling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In China, the use of the term \u201cverified\u201d is restricted. In April, the certification authorities made clear that carbon-labelling schemes have to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.cn\/zhengce\/zhengceku\/202404\/content_6944116.htm\">registered<\/a>. It stipulated that carbon disclosures and neutrality statements for products, services and management systems must not use terms such as \u201capproved\u201d, \u201cexamined\u201d or \u201cverified\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Carbon neutrality labels are a subset of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cenews.com.cn\/news.html?aid=1139270\">carbon labelling<\/a>. Emissions information is presented as quantities or grades, to allow consumers to make lower-carbon choices. The US, UK, EU and Japan all have carbon-labelling schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China is still exploring and testing the possibilities for carbon labelling, and there is not yet any applicable legislation in place. According to the National Energy Administration\u2019s official newspaper, China Energy News, the country has <a href=\"https:\/\/paper.people.com.cn\/zgnyb\/html\/2024-04\/15\/content_26056262.htm\">1,400<\/a> approved certification bodies, covering a wide range of products. For example, the carbon management solutions provider Carbonstop has an online shopping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carbonstop.com\/zh\/solution\/lowCarbonMall\">platform<\/a> that lists over 300 low-carbon products, from pet care to personal care. But a lack of norms and standards means the quality of certification is <a href=\"https:\/\/finance.sina.com.cn\/tech\/2022-07-12\/doc-imizmscv1138517.shtml?finpagefr=p_114\">uneven<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-accordion block--accordion\"><span class=\"block--accordion__title\">What standards define carbon-neutral products?<\/span><div class=\"block--accordion__content\"><div class=\"block--accordion__content__inner\">\n<p>China doesn\u2019t have a national standard for carbon-neutral product certification, so overseas standards are usually referred to. These include the International Organization for Standardization\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bsigroup.com\/en-GB\/capabilities\/environment\/pas-2060-carbon-neutrality\/\">PAS 2060<\/a> (due to be formally superseded by ISO 14068 in 2025) and Costa Rica\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iso.org\/news\/ref2391.html\">INTE B5<\/a>. These set requirements for the three steps to certification: accounting for, reducing and offsetting carbon emissions.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, unlike China, the EU is saying goodbye to carbon-neutral product statements that depend upon offsetting. The bloc enacted a new <a href=\"https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=OJ:L_202400825\">directive<\/a> in March called Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition. It prohibits claims that a product or service has a neutral or positive impact on carbon emissions, if those claims are reliant on offsetting. EU member states now have two years to incorporate the directive into national law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One Chinese expert told Dialogue Earth off the record: \u201cA lot of companies claim to be net-zero, zero-carbon or carbon-neutral, but there are so many loopholes that the consumer gets misled. The EU directive will mean only statements based on environmental impacts during the product\u2019s lifecycle will be permitted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the new directive, \u201ccarbon-neutral\u201d is not the only term to be prohibited: \u201cenvironmentally friendly\u201d, \u201cclimate-friendly\u201d, \u201ccarbon-friendly\u201d, \u201ccarbon-positive\u201d and other vague terms and statements will be subject to investigation and possible punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-offsetting-debates-and-greenwashing-concerns\">Offsetting debates and greenwashing concerns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The concerns being raised about carbon neutrality boil down to doubts over carbon offsetting via carbon credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although restrictions are in place \u2013 such as the requirement that a carbon credit is cancelled once it has been used for offsetting \u2013 a lack of transparency and double-counting have caused global offsetting <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s?__biz=Mzg2MDAzOTgwMA==&amp;mid=2247493693&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=6e5e83d8b8af9cc55c3d3172e343d4f4&amp;chksm=cf20f3ab941c7ebd39da2c3286c36fe8ba7e3baa751826f59f9b9226842593f3502cafbe501d&amp;xtrack=1&amp;scene=90&amp;subscene=93&amp;sessionid=1717762234&amp;flutter_pos=5&amp;clicktime=1717762254&amp;enterid=1717762254&amp;ascene=56&amp;fasttmpl_type=0&amp;fasttmpl_fullversion=7239299-zh_CN-zip&amp;fasttmpl_flag=0&amp;realreporttime=1717762254603&amp;devicetype=android-34&amp;version=28002a49&amp;nettype=WIFI&amp;lang=zh_HK&amp;session_us=gh_b7d93733c484&amp;exportkey=n_ChQIAhIQfVHrX%2Fx3YfidFj%2BiokvWKhLxAQIE97dBBAEAAAAAAPmrAiHotrwAAAAOpnltbLcz9gKNyK89dVj0iSRf%2B%2B8vCuj5k%2BAm9usTacP2ruxlABMC7d5HcGqGOaYW6AvuKSYlBx3IPhbi5IkbVc4oHfc%2FQbXjJQzrfJB5DOKTa9GDMqgTkbi58LXPboMm4g%2BBXDjSfg44m1s5bkn3G5BTMK6lEoLFZuTGl9a0arMoxkos4ph%2FZfJa6LqUXJxPBGOm5iz42ydcCHmBf5AYSACOJ0bUr2uRYHksjTQ2agnwAKYpcaHc0lhNdYrv9b4l4fZNKh2FBhUEmqGdGc8DNPnQwB5eRebv0Y0%3D&amp;pass_ticket=gA5cBmqZLGt%2BDU0f%2FNOh8J9YUbvc5%2BMiEXZ9tgHRt5sCj6AYs7pr2bHJQN94UVFB&amp;wx_header=3\">scandals<\/a>. In 2023, it was revealed that 90% of the rainforest carbon offsetting projects run by Verra (the world\u2019s biggest certifier of carbon offsets) were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2023\/jan\/18\/revealed-forest-carbon-offsets-biggest-provider-worthless-verra-aoe?ssp=1&amp;darkschemeovr=1&amp;setlang=en-US&amp;safesearch=moderate\">worthless<\/a>; the world\u2019s biggest carbon trader, South Pole, was accused of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2023\/10\/23\/the-great-cash-for-carbon-hustle\">exaggerating<\/a> the outcomes of its projects that same year. Customers of those firms include big emitters such as oil and aviation firms, and well-known consumer and consultancy brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This has all inevitably damaged the reputation of carbon offsetting; many companies that had claimed their products or activities were carbon-neutral were accused of greenwashing. As long ago as 2007, some were already warning that offsets were nothing more than \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tni.org\/en\/publication\/the-carbon-neutral-myth-0\">modern-day indulgences<\/a>\u201d that would do nothing to benefit the climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/A-carbon-neutral-certificate_Cynthia-Lee_Alamy_2K1X2NW.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/A-carbon-neutral-certificate_Cynthia-Lee_Alamy_2K1X2NW-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/A-carbon-neutral-certificate_Cynthia-Lee_Alamy_2K1X2NW-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/A-carbon-neutral-certificate_Cynthia-Lee_Alamy_2K1X2NW.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"a carbon neutral certificate hang on the wall\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">A carbon neutrality certificate at a McDonald&#8217;s in Beijing (Image: Cynthia Lee \/ Alamy)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/A-carbon-neutral-certificate_Cynthia-Lee_Alamy_2K1X2NW.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"496 KB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1920\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The controversy over carbon neutrality has carried over to labelling and statements. In 2012, a UK consultancy called the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carbontrust.com\/zh\/what-we-do\/assurance-and-labelling\/product-carbon-footprint-label\">Carbon Trust<\/a> launched a carbon neutrality labelling scheme. In 2023, this was replaced with a carbon footprint label, alongside promises of \u201ca greater emphasis on reduction, more ambitious requirements and more information about the claim\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As mentioned, products and services in China also claim to be carbon-neutral with recourse to offsets. Such offsets are often purchased as China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER), which are government-certified carbon credits. The CCER scheme, which is voluntary, was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kwm.com\/cn\/zh\/insights\/latest-thinking\/revision-of-the-official-draft-of-ccer-scheme.html\">suspended<\/a> between 2017 and January 2024 partially due to fraudulent data and a lack of transparency. Today, China\u2019s voluntary carbon market is overseen by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. This stricter oversight means that \u2013 at least in theory \u2013 the data is of <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s?__biz=MzkwMDcyODUwMg==&amp;mid=2247512729&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=2c15a4b18e839759359b2ffc381bfabd&amp;source=41#wechat_redirect\">better quality<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are no such rules for carbon neutrality statements. This means many of them rely on various standards for their offsets, such as those of the CCER scheme and the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). April\u2019s statement from the certification authorities in China recommends the use of international standards, national standards and industry standards. It stipulates \u201cother emissions-reductions mechanisms, such as CCER, CDM, [Verified Carbon Standard] and [Gold Standard] must not be used only.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org.cn\/2024\/04\/30\/op-ed-on-sbti\/\">In other words<\/a>, just buying carbon credits does not mean you can describe yourself or your product as carbon-neutral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-will-carbon-neutrality-certification-continue\">Will carbon neutrality certification continue?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe EU isn\u2019t ending carbon neutrality,\u201d clarifies our off-the-record expert. \u201cThere\u2019s no problem with being carbon-neutral. It\u2019s the lack of standards and evidence that\u2019s the problem. The EU wants to stop people labelling themselves as carbon-neutral with no basis for doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In China, carbon neutrality certification for companies and products can continue: there is no mention in the April statement of banning terms such as \u201ccertificate\u201d or \u201cstatement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ouyang Cheng, the consulting director at Carbonstop, believes carbon neutrality product labels have their own significance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"60041542\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf a product is marked as having a carbon footprint of 10g, that might not mean much to a consumer, and it will have limited help in increasing sales. However, if consumers are told that it is low-carbon or carbon-neutral, they are willing to pay for it. With positive feedback from consumers, companies will be more motivated to invest in carbon neutrality, and low-carbon transformation will have more talent, technology and financial support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In both China and the EU, carbon neutrality labelling and the stricter management of offset-based claims have raised uncertainty for voluntary carbon markets. Given that the carbon credits purchased to back up those claims come from voluntary markets, our off-the-record expert ponders: \u201cEU regulations block the biggest use of carbon offsets in the voluntary emission-reduction market. Will it be a watershed in the development of the voluntary carbon market? Will it have an indirect psychological impact on China\u2019s CCER?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-carbon-footprint-accounting-needs-to-catch-up\">Carbon footprint accounting needs to catch up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Carbon labelling, including neutrality labels, displays the outcomes of carbon accounting in a way that is easy for consumers to understand. Regardless of the words or forms used, carbon footprint accounting remains crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is something developed nations started earlier, building authoritative databases of emissions factors and carbon-accounting standards. China, however, is just getting started. As experts have <a href=\"https:\/\/m.bjx.com.cn\/mnews\/20240509\/1375712.shtml\">explained<\/a>, the EU\u2019s carbon levy (known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) and sustainability requirements for products (such as for the carbon footprint of electric vehicle batteries) are two major measures that promote a trade-linked system of global carbon standards. Both require the disclosure and accounting of carbon footprints. So, a mutual recognition of standards on these processes, with the EU and other trading partners, is an essential consideration for Chinese firms working in those markets \u2013 and a current source of <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s?__biz=MzAxMjU1ODAxOQ==&amp;mid=2651054503&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=e1e5d8ea7c47a132866459ef4d910a0a&amp;chksm=8158374a74482620dc5909b1b1ff76e759c1aad1e4a72bd2dae4d71e22deca2d7e3d54fa98f8&amp;xtrack=1&amp;scene=90&amp;subscene=93&amp;sessionid=1720077202&amp;flutter_pos=2&amp;clicktime=1720077926&amp;enterid=1720077926&amp;ascene=56&amp;fasttmpl_type=0&amp;fasttmpl_fullversion=7278183-zh_CN-zip&amp;fasttmpl_flag=0&amp;realreporttime=1720077926602&amp;devicetype=android-34&amp;version=28003044&amp;nettype=WIFI&amp;lang=zh_CN&amp;session_us=gh_52274a65081a&amp;exportkey=n_ChQIAhIQLbqsNqUPArGPTS9OC6p28xLxAQIE97dBBAEAAAAAAIdDNn7ERPsAAAAOpnltbLcz9gKNyK89dVj0XWWTDchOcNLzIPhVSh2LcfnSQmJyR%2FzCww54UMrUUjq3FF%2Bjh9e88Bm2EhQfKSetwdt52bWxijLjqTvFeg4z8v3mRKcpfJqtc9OfRchac%2FYv6rJzZvIXByEdElgmTePY%2BgN77kT8B5pT9CqJ3A9bIWN18gPBK%2F7HbXnwy0kk3DU8m1s9MiKT50wgZCtmOn6XHJyO2Ge1ywYYIAxNYngkSpA%2Fk7VxJV8ntbgckseZ1Qh6nCIMSXhUbV1U%2FcmYjf0m8vvgKSApILB5dy8%3D&amp;pass_ticket=QK9gh%2B7JIiWB%2BWEPEyH2rRNKYMDPyTYJ1DIvO42hKh%2B8Z6KyaRRscyxY13YeT320&amp;wx_header=3\">difficulty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"113817\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>China is working to align its own carbon footprint accounting system with those overseas. That system will start to take shape in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mee.gov.cn\/xxgk2018\/xxgk\/xxgk03\/202406\/W020240604697785022042.pdf\">2027<\/a>, by which point carbon accounting standards for about 100 key products will be in place. By 2025, China will have rules and standards in place for calculating a product\u2019s carbon footprint, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/product-carbon-footprint-system-boosted\/\">a database of such footprints<\/a>. That will allow a single <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndrc.gov.cn\/xxgk\/zcfb\/tz\/202311\/t20231124_1362231_ext.html\">system<\/a> for verification and labelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts <a href=\"https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s?__biz=MzkwMDcyODUwMg==&amp;mid=2247512728&amp;idx=1&amp;sn=d53096759d5930b63a18c36d6e7428c3&amp;source=41#wechat_redirect\">say<\/a> this standardisation of carbon neutrality and other carbon labels must happen first, because this is such a large and complex system. The hope, they add, is that focusing on labels initially will lead to success in building the rest of the system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":731,"featured_media":60055851,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[761],"tags":[513,50040310,580],"hashtags":[],"country":[20000110,50041559],"class_list":["post-60054852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-carbon-markets","tag-policy","country-china","country-european-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lican Liu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lican Liu\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7f5ff55fe03d74402cb6a82023ba3cef\"},\"headline\":\"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\"},\"wordCount\":1709,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Carbon emissions\",\"Carbon markets\",\"Policy\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Climate\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\",\"name\":\"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"2RRFK6D 220420 -- BOAO, April 20, 2022 -- Staff members make zero carbon coffee at the media center of the Boao Forum for Asia BFA in Boao, south China s Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. The BFA will hold its annual conference from April 20 to 22 in Boao, a coastal town in China s southernmost province of Hainan. Green recovery and sustainable development are among the topics of the conference. CHINA-HAINAN-BOAO FORUM-GREEN ELEMENTS CN GuoxCheng PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7f5ff55fe03d74402cb6a82023ba3cef\",\"name\":\"Lican Liu\",\"description\":\"Liu Lican is coordinator of the environmental health and climate-change programme at the International Center for Communication Development (ICCD).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liulican\/\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liulican\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China | Dialogue Earth","description":"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China","og_description":"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_published_time":"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lican Liu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/"},"author":{"name":"Lican Liu","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7f5ff55fe03d74402cb6a82023ba3cef"},"headline":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China","datePublished":"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/"},"wordCount":1709,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg","keywords":["Carbon emissions","Carbon markets","Policy"],"articleSection":["Climate"],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/","name":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-10-21T11:57:06+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-23T15:13:36+00:00","description":"Product claims regarding carbon neutrality based on offsets are controversial, but better accounting of carbon footprints is on the way","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zero-carbon-coffee-at-Boao-Forum_Guo-Cheng_IMAGO_Alamy_2RRFK6D-1200px-copy.jpeg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"2RRFK6D 220420 -- BOAO, April 20, 2022 -- Staff members make zero carbon coffee at the media center of the Boao Forum for Asia BFA in Boao, south China s Hainan Province, April 20, 2022. The BFA will hold its annual conference from April 20 to 22 in Boao, a coastal town in China s southernmost province of Hainan. Green recovery and sustainable development are among the topics of the conference. CHINA-HAINAN-BOAO FORUM-GREEN ELEMENTS CN GuoxCheng PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/the-challenges-of-carbon-neutrality-labelling-in-china\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The challenges of carbon neutrality labelling in China"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7f5ff55fe03d74402cb6a82023ba3cef","name":"Lican Liu","description":"Liu Lican is coordinator of the environmental health and climate-change programme at the International Center for Communication Development (ICCD).","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liulican\/","sameAs":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/author\/liulican\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60054852","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/731"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60054852"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60054852\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60055963,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60054852\/revisions\/60055963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60055851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60054852"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60054852"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60054852"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=60054852"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=60054852"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}