China's carbon trading market sees stronger vitality: ministry

BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China's national carbon market has seen stronger vitality over the past three years, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Monday.

As of the end of June, the market reported a trading volume of 465 million tonnes of carbon emissions and a total turnover of 27 billion yuan (about 3.79 billion U.S. dollars), said Pei Xiaofei, a ministry spokesperson.

The carbon price has posted a steady upward trend, with the closing price rising from 48 yuan per tonne on the launch day to 91.6 yuan on July 26 this year, representing a surge of 90.8 percent, according to the spokesperson.

Carbon trading, which allows the buying and selling of permits to emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, is regarded as one of the critical tools to help reduce carbon footprints and meet emissions targets.

Covering 5.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions per year, China's national carbon trading market is the world's largest, as measured by the amount of greenhouse gas emissions traded. The market currently includes 2,257 emitters from the power generation sector, official data shows.

Pei said that China's trading market has reported progress in multiple aspects over the past three years, with a relatively complete institutional framework established and its carbon emissions accounting and management capabilities visibly improved.

For the next step, the ministry will continue to position the market as a tool to curb emissions, include emitters from other sectors, deepen international exchanges and cooperation, and strive to build a carbon market that is more effective, dynamic and internationally influential, the spokesperson said.

In a key document unveiled recently, China has pledged to improve the mechanisms for green and low-carbon development, saying that it will enhance the cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, and move toward reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.