The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has initiated preparations for expanding carbon trading in industries such as chemical, petrochemical, civil aviation, papermaking, etc

By 2027, the carbon emission trading market will basically cover the major emission industries in the industrial sector.

According to the requirement of "covering major high emission industries in the national carbon emission trading market", the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has initiated preliminary preparations for expanding industries such as chemical, petrochemical, civil aviation, and papermaking, and is accelerating the preparation of a "package" of technical documents.

The person in charge of the Climate Department of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment revealed on November 18th that in order to understand the emission situation of industries such as chemical, petrochemical, civil aviation, and papermaking, carbon emission reports of relevant industry enterprises have been collected and organized since 2013. After verification, the relevant data has met the conditions for targeted solutions to the quality problems of carbon emission data, laying the foundation for scientifically and reasonably determining the total quota and allocation plan.

In addition, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has organized relevant units to study and draft quota allocation plans, accounting report guidelines, verification technical guidelines, and other supporting technical documents for the chemical, petrochemical, civil aviation, and paper industries, in order to provide technical support for the expansion work. In response to the need for expansion, the national carbon market management platform, registration system, and trading system have been upgraded and renovated from the aspects of enhancing regulatory capabilities, expanding system capacity, improving digitalization level, and ensuring data security, in order to improve the security capabilities of the infrastructure platform.

Adhere to the principle of 'mature one, included one', and expand the coverage of industries and greenhouse gas types in an orderly manner based on industry development status, carbon reduction and pollution reduction contributions, data quality foundation, carbon emission characteristics, etc. The person in charge stated that on the basis of the existing coverage, the coverage will gradually be expanded to industries such as chemical, petrochemical, civil aviation, and papermaking. By 2027, the carbon emission trading market will basically cover the major emission industries in the industrial sector.

In March of this year, with the approval of the State Council, the steel, cement, and aluminum smelting industries were included in the management of the carbon emission trading market, covering greenhouse gas types such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), and carbon hexafluoride (C2F6). On November 18th, the "Total Quota and Allocation Plan for the Steel, Cement, and Aluminum Smelting Industries in the National Carbon Emission Trading Market for 2024 and 2025" (hereinafter referred to as the "Quota Plan") was announced.

The aviation industry's carbon emissions account for 2% -3% of the global total, and it is expected that the proportion will significantly increase in the future. Photography/Zhang Ke

The aviation industry's carbon emissions account for 2% -3% of the global total, and it is expected that the proportion will significantly increase in the future. Photography/Zhang Ke