{"id":75066,"date":"2022-02-17T15:00:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T15:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chinadialogue.net\/?p=75066"},"modified":"2022-03-02T09:58:19","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T09:58:19","slug":"the-first-year-of-chinas-national-carbon-market-reviewed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/the-first-year-of-chinas-national-carbon-market-reviewed\/","title":{"rendered":"The first year of China’s national carbon market, reviewed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

China\u2019s national emissions trading scheme (ETS) became operational last year, obliging more than 2,000 big emitters in the power sector to account for their emissions in 2019 and 2020. The current scope of the ETS includes annual emissions close to 4.5 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, or around 40% of China\u2019s total. Unlike similar schemes elsewhere, such as in the European Union, China\u2019s allocation of emissions allowances<\/a> is not decided upfront via an absolute cap but is based instead on emissions intensity. One allowance means a company can emit 1 tonne of carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, activity has been limited: in 2021 the ETS traded a total of 412.05 million tonnes of allowances, including those on regional pilot schemes and the domestic offsets known as CCERs. However, a slow start is not uncommon: in its first year of trading in 2005, the EU ETS saw 321 million allowances transacted, but this had topped 12 billion by 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s ETS pilots \u2013 most of which have been active since 2013 \u2013 continued operations in parallel, but for the most part saw trade volumes drop as power sector emitters turned increasingly to the national ETS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are CCERs?<\/strong><\/span>

China Certified Emissions Reductions (CCER) refer to activities by companies to reduce emissions on a voluntary basis, which have been certified by the government. Example activities include renewable power generation, forestry projects and waste-to-energy projects.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The national ETS was announced in 2017 and officially launched in early January 2021 when the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) published key ETS policy documents. In July 2021, trading commenced on the platform operated by the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange. The year also saw activity on China\u2019s two other major carbon market institutions: first, the Beijing Green Exchange, which is the national trading platform for voluntary carbon credits (VERs) and for domestic offsets (CCERs) that operators covered under the national ETS may use for compliance; and second, the China Hubei Carbon Emissions Exchange, which serves as an interim registry of transactions and holdings until an official national ETS registry is established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upbeat results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The carbon emissions allowances closed the year at 54.22 yuan (US$8.52) per tonne, up 13% on the opening price of 16 July. Including both listed and off-exchange trades, the weighted average price of allowances in 2021 was 43.85 yuan ($6.89) per tonne. A total of 179 million tonnes of allowances changed hands over the 114 trading days in 2021. Of these, 148 million tonnes (83%) were over-the-counter (OTC). The following table gives an overview of the market performance of the different kinds of transaction last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carbon emissions allowance trades in the main segments of China\u2019s carbon market, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/td>Trade volume <\/strong>
(million tonnes)<\/strong><\/td>		Value <\/strong>
(million $)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
National ETS<\/strong><\/td>178.79<\/td>1,301.23<\/td><\/tr>
Regional pilots<\/strong><\/td>63.58<\/td>371.05<\/td><\/tr>
CCERs<\/strong><\/td>169.68<\/td>N\/A<\/td><\/tr>
Total<\/strong><\/td>412.05*<\/td>1,672.83<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
Note: *Total volume includes allowances transacted in pilot ETS, national ETS and CCER transactions. Value includes only allowance units (as CCERs are mainly traded over-the-counter, there is no publicly available source for prices). Transactions of local offset units in the separate pilots are small, and not included in our assessment.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trades are conducted electronically, and only spot transactions are allowed. No futures or other derivatives are. Transactions are referred to as either listed trades or OTC bulk trades (bilateral OTC trades that cleared on exchange at the end of each session). The latter occur in minimum batches of 100,000 allowances by mutual agreement and a daily price fluctuation limit of 30%. Only covered entities may trade. Financial institutions and other \u201cspeculators\u201d are not yet allowed to participate in the market, although the Chinese government has indicated this may change at a later stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ETS transactions occurred in two distinct stages, with those taking place during July to September representing a \u201clearning and preparing\u201d phase, and real trading starting from October to mid-December. By the end of September, however, some large state-owned enterprises had completed their company carbon asset management and trading strategies: 30 September saw some large OTC transactions. With covered entities having received their allowances gradually from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment over the course of the year, demand picked up in October to mid-December as operators with a shortage began searching for allowances both on-screen and in block trades. Available supply was limited, as most surplus holders did not want to part with their extra allowances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n