China's carbon market was officially established in 2021 and is systematically moving towards completing green and low-carbon targets.
Chinese experts give recommendations at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: N.BINH
On November 26, at the conference Exploring solutions to the challenges of PFAS recycling and packaging recycling held in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Zhang Bin Liang, director of Sino Carbon Company (China), shared the process of this country building the ETS system (emission trading system) and achieving current achievements.
China's "transformation"
According to Mr. Zhang Bin Liang, at the time of initial implementation, the Chinese Government did not have much knowledge about emissions, while the key factor of implementation was to raise awareness for businesses to understand that carbon emission reduction is not a burden but an opportunity to increase other sources of income for businesses.
"In the first year of 2021, businesses that did not conduct carbon audits were heavily fined by the government and even blacklisted. In the second year, businesses immediately started doing it.
Another reality is that Chinese businesses initially wait until the last minute to buy quotas, meaning they wait until the end of the year to buy quotas, at which point prices are pushed up significantly. Transaction volumes increase in June and July every year because this is the time when businesses need to submit quotas," he said. Zhang Bin Liang shared.
Presently China has two main forms of carbon trading. The Allowance Trading Market is where emission quotas are traded based on the national quota allocation policy. This market has been in operation since October 2021.
Meanwhile, the Credit Trading Market acts as a carbon offset mechanism through renewable energy projects and forestation projects. These credits help high-emission industries reduce pressure.
China's national ETS system was implemented in a pilot phase from 2007 to 2017. During this phase, ETS pilots were implemented in eight provinces and cities, including Beijing and Shanghai. Each locality focused on specific industries to control emissions, covering 80-90% of emissions.
Beijing, for example, hit its carbon peak in 2012, just a year after the pilot began. After learning from the pilots, China began building a nationwide ETS, which will be operational by 2021.
To date, Beijing is one of the earliest cities to peak CO2 emissions, demonstrating the ability to control emissions through the ETS. Over time, businesses have learned to optimize transaction costs, no longer concentrating purchases at one time but distributing transactions throughout the year.
" Clear and transparent regulations are key to ensuring business compliance and controlling emissions. Secondly, it is necessary to build a suitable pricing system to encourage businesses to reduce emissions. Finally, accurate measurement and verification of emissions are prerequisites for efficient market operation," said Mr. Zhang Bin Liang.
Vietnam's Opportunity
According to Chinese experts, Vietnam has also set a big target in reducing emissions, with plans to establish an ETS system and a carbon trading market. The target of cutting emissions by 27%, equivalent to 250 million tons of carbon, is feasible if there are appropriate policy mechanisms.
"China's national ETS system is expanding to cover more sectors, doubling the number of participating enterprises to more than 4,000 companies. For traditional industries, mandatory controls are needed, while renewable energy and green agriculture projects should be encouraged to provide carbon credits," the Chinese expert added.
Enterprises and regulators in Vietnam can learn from China's experience in establishing national and regional ETS markets, with the main foundation being the completion of legal systems and technical guidelines to ensure accuracy in emission measurement, reporting and verification.
Mr. Nguyen Huy, Director of Food Service Quality Assurance Intertek Vietnam and Cambodia, said that Vietnam plans to allocate quotas and test the greenhouse gas emission trading system (ETS) in 2025. This will help Vietnam have a solid legal foundation, both meeting the requirements of the state and in line with international standards.
"The world has standards for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions and businesses need to grasp them by increasing training and consulting for workers," Mr. Huy commented.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-gia-trung-quoc-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-trien-khai-thi-truong-carbon-20241126185414856.htm
Comment (0)