Carbon trading market may get global links soon

Smoke billows from a factory in Dezhou, Shandong province. To reach mandatory efficiency goals, the government had to take some extreme steps, including power cuts and limits on electricity supply in 2010. [Provided to China Daily]

China starts carbon trading in Shenzhen

Future points to carbon trading

China will study the feasibility of linking the nation's emissions trading market to overseas platforms for carbon trading, part of a national plan on coping with climate change during the 2014-2020 period, which was released on Friday.

The seven regional pilot markets that the nation has launched are running smoothly, said Xie Zhenhua, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Overall carbon permit trading has exceeded 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide with a value of more than 500 million yuan ($81 million), he said.

China plans to establish a nationwide market for carbon permit trading in 2016 and the NDRC, the nation's top economic planner, aims to submit regulations for that market to the State Council, China's cabinet, for approval by the end of the year, Sun Cuihua, a senior climate official with the NDRC said last month.

China has also set a target of cutting carbon emissions by the secondary industry to 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, according to the plan.

Li Junfeng, director-general of the National Center of Climate Change Strategy Research, said that target would help the nation realize its overall goal.

"The secondary industry must take the lead in cutting emissions, because its energy consumption and emissions are much higher than other sectors," said Li.

China has pledged to reduce the amount of carbon it emits per unit of GDP to a range of 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited national leaders, as well as business, finance, civil society and local leaders, to a climate summit that will be held in New York next week.

Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli will attend the summit as the special envoy of President Xi Jinping.

Zhang will deliver a keynote speech at the summit to explain China's position and its measures to address climate change.

China will explain some positive actions it will take after 2020 at the summit, said Xie from the NDRC.

China is considering imposing a cap on its carbon emissions, Xie said, without giving a timetable for when that figure would be announced.