Regulations needed for strengthening ETS construction
Launching a national emission trading system (ETS) is a key milestone in China’s climate policy, as it shows that China is an important participant and contributor in the global endeavor for ecological civilization, Liu Shuang, director of the Low Carbon Economic Growth Program with Energy Foundation China, told the Global Times on Monday.
“The nationwide ETS sends a clear signal to emitters that they will have to take individual responsibility for controlling their carbon emissions,” Liu said.
It will take a while before the ETS can play a significant role in incentivizing reductions, Liu noted, adding that improvements will be needed for the national ETS, such as a stronger legal basis, more stringent caps and better allocation.
China unveiled a nationwide carbon emission trading system in December 2017, and the system will first go into operation in the power generation industry, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner.
However, China’s carbon emissions market is still not active enough, and is lacking in legal support, along with various other issues.
The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce submitted a proposal for further strengthening the carbon market at the ongoing two sessions.
It proposed that a carbon emission trading supervision and management committee could be established to issue the right trading regulations.
The National People’s Congress and the State Council, China’s cabinet, could speed up approval of the ETS regulations, to enhance the legal basis of the national ETS, according to Liu. “This is also in line with the strategy of implementing the rule of law.”
“The ETS is only one policy in the whole environmental and climate action package. Integration of the ETS with other energy or climate policies, such as power sector reform, is essential to the success of the ETS,” she said.
A cross-ministerial working mechanism to better coordinate the design and implementation of the ETS and other mitigation policies is urgently needed, Liu noted.