Opinion: Better data is key to success of China’s carbon market
September 20, 2022 by Alistair Ritchie and Yi Chen
The following is an excerpt of Alistair Ritchie and Yi Chen's op-ed originally published in China Dialogue.
Richard L Sandor, the “father of carbon trading” and founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange, quoted Victor Hugo to explain the resilience of global emission trading development: “No force on Earth can halt an idea whose time has come.”
As concern about climate change increases, a growing number of countries have pledged to reduce carbon emissions by implementing one of the most cost-effective solutions, an emissions trading system (ETS). So far, jurisdictions accounting for 55% of global GDP are using emissions trading.
China’s recently established national ETS has drawn tremendous attention worldwide. It is expected to serve as China’s primary tool to meet its “dual carbon” targets of CO2 peaking before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. The largest ETS globally, it accounts for 40% of China’s emissions and more than 10% of worldwide emissions, with the potential to double in size once industrial sectors are added to the already-covered energy sector. It is also the first nationwide ETS in a large developing country.