BEIJING: China will strive to expand its carbon trading market as soon as possible, as both trade volume and prices in the program are increasing, Zhao Yingmin, vice-minister of ecology and environment, said on Monday.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has been forging ahead with preparatory work to include another seven major carbon emitting industries in the market, which currently only involves the power generation sector, he told a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office.
By the end of last year, the program had seen over 440 million metric tons of carbon emission allowances change hands for roughly 24.9 billion yuan ($3.5 billion), Zhao said.
He said the trade volume in the second compliance period jumped by 19 percent, and the turnover went up by 89 percent. “Overall, the price of carbon emission allowances shows a stable upward trend,” Zhao said, adding that the price had climbed to about 80 yuan per ton, compared with 48 yuan when the market was launched.
Carbon trading is the process of buying and selling permits to emit greenhouse gases among designated emitters. Currently, 2,257 power-generating enterprises are involved in the carbon trading market, Zhao said. It covers roughly 5.1 billion tons of emissions, representing over 40 percent of the country’s total. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
