December 28, 2017
China is set to introduce its equivalent of U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan, even as the Trump administration prepares to discard its electricity rule for the carbon sector, according to a December 15, 2017 report from Scientific American/Climate Wire.
China will debut an emissions trading system that will begin by covering coal- and natural-gas-based power production. The program will eventually expand to a variety of manufacturing and industrial sectors.
“It is important to bear in mind that the first phase will be embryonic,” said Li Shuo, senior global policy adviser for Greenpeace East Asia, who has been briefed on some details of the coming plan. He stressed those could change before the launch.
It’s a slower start than the Chinese government initially promised, but environmentalists say that’s prudent. The world’s second-largest economy and largest global emitter of greenhouse gases has limited monitoring and verification capabilities.
“It is precisely the lack of transparency that has worried investors in other Chinese markets, and carbon markets are known for being notoriously tricky,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House climate adviser. China must also build the legal infrastructure that will allow it to hold companies accountable for noncompliance.
So, greens say it makes sense for China to focus first on the power sector, which is its largest single source of emissions, before expanding.
“China has this saying that ‘We have to cross the river by feeling one stone at a time,'” said Barbara Finamore, senior attorney and Asia director for the China program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “When the president of China announces a program like this, he’s putting his personal reputation behind it.”
What this means to you
China will debut an emissions trading system that will begin by covering coal- and natural-gas-based power production. The program will eventually expand to a variety of manufacturing and industrial sectors.
MIRATECH can help
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