China Launches World’s Largest Carbon Market, Stakes a Leading Role on Climate Change
By Dominique Mosbergen, Huffington Post.
As President Donald Trump’s administration takes steps backward in the world’s fight against climate change, China is ramping up its commitment.
Chinese Premier Xi Jinping on Tuesday made good on his promise to launch a national carbon market. Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission unveiled the highly anticipated emissions trading system during a conference call with industry and government representatives, the Australian Financial Review reported.
Though not as ambitious a scheme originally touted, the program — which will cover China’s power sector in its first phase — has already overtaken the European Union carbon market as the world’s largest.
“The launching of China’s national emissions trading system is a
significant step in a long march toward a clean energy economy,” Zou Ji, president of Energy Foundation China, told HuffPost in a statement. “By launching, China sends a strong political signal internationally that China is keeping its global commitments, and is committed to the Paris Agreement.”