China's carbon market has seen its trading volume exceed 760 million tons, with total transaction value reaching 51.44 billion yuan (about 7.25 billion U.S. dollars) by Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
This year, key emission-intensive industries, including steel, cement, and aluminum smelting, have officially joined the carbon market, adding approximately 1,500 major emission sources, said Xia Yingxian, director of the ministry's Department of Climate Change at a press briefing on Wednesday, noting that the expansion is expected to effectively regulate over 60 percent of the country's total carbon emissions.
"In the previous two compliance periods, the power generation sector cut its total emissions costs by roughly 35 billion yuan. With the inclusion of steel, cement, and aluminum smelting industries, which now involve a more diverse range of entities, the carbon trading market is promoting cross-sector resource allocation, helping to lower the overall social cost of emission reduction," said Xia.
Looking ahead, Xia emphasized that China will continue to broaden the coverage of its carbon market.
"We will gradually shift our efforts from intensity control to total-volume control of carbon emissions, and steadily increasing the share of paid allowances. Enhancing quota scarcity and promoting a more accurate carbon price will more comprehensively reflect our country's emission reduction costs, providing a clearer price signal for the structural optimization of key industries and their green and low-carbon transformation," said Xia.
China’s carbon market surpasses 50 bln yuan in transactions: official
