Zhang Xin, National Climate Strategy Center: Coordinate and promote the construction of a voluntary carbon market and work together to cultivate new green and low-carbon driving forces
In January this year, the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market was officially launched after six years of reform, becoming an important policy tool for my country to mobilize emission reduction actions by the whole society and promote the implementation of the "double carbon" goal. Recently, the relationship between the voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism (hereinafter referred to as the CCER mechanism) and the green certificate and green power system has attracted widespread attention, which has had a certain impact on market entities 'carrying out voluntary emission reduction trading activities. In view of this, clarifying the differentiated policy positioning of the above two types of market mechanisms and solving cross-management issues guided by market independent choice will help realize the policy functions of each market mechanism and better play the incentive role of voluntary carbon market emission reduction.
The significance of persisting in promoting the construction of the CCER mechanism
Continuing to consolidate and improve the CCER mechanism and promote the establishment of a voluntary carbon market that has both guidance for low-carbon development and international influence will not only provide support for improving my country's carbon pricing policy framework and promoting the development of low-carbon industries, but also help my country adapt to the increasingly complex and changeable international carbon pricing game situation.
The first is to boost the enthusiasm of the whole society to reduce emissions. Compared with market mechanisms such as the National Carbon Emissions Trading Market that aim to control carbon emissions in key industries, the CCER mechanism provides relevant channels for encouraging market entities that have not undertaken mandatory emission reduction obligations to proactively carry out emission reduction activities. At this stage, the certified voluntary emission reductions issued for qualified emission reduction projects (hereinafter referred to as CCER) can be used to achieve the purpose of clearing and offsetting quotas in national and local carbon emissions trading markets, carbon neutrality of enterprise products, and carbon neutrality of large-scale activities. Selling such credit indicators brings economic benefits to project owners and continues to encourage All types of entities to voluntarily adopt emission reduction measures and mobilize resources from the whole society to actively invest in the field of carbon reduction and exchange increase, which is conducive to improving my country's climate governance framework, promoting green and low-carbon transformation, and achieving high-quality development.
The second is to accelerate the cultivation of newly developed low-carbon industries.XiJinpingThe general secretary pointed out that the upcoming national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market will create huge green market opportunities. According to the design of the mechanism framework, the development of voluntary emission reduction projects should comply with technical standards such as emission reduction project methodology announced by the competent authorities, which means that the economic benefits generated by CCER can flow relatively accurately to relevant low-carbon industries and projects, providing financial support from emission reduction contributions, improving its financial performance and financing conditions, focusing on using market mechanisms to alleviate the financing difficulties of low-carbon industries, and optimizing the development of low-carbon industries and the application environment of low-carbon technologies. Support the creation of new green and low-carbon momentum.
The third is to support the performance of domestic and foreign carbon trading mechanisms. On the one hand, CCER is the main qualified offset unit in the national and local carbon emissions trading market. Key emission units can use an appropriate amount of CCER to offset the payment of their carbon emission quotas, providing greater flexibility for mandatory carbon market performance and helping to reduce The performance costs of key emission units ensure that the mandatory carbon market emission reduction constraints are generally controllable. On the other hand, with the implementation of industry-based international carbon trading mechanisms such as the International Aviation Carbon Offset and Emission Reduction Plan (CORSIA), my country's international civil aviation industry is facing increasing international performance pressure, promoting CCER to be recognized as a qualified offset by the International Civil Aviation Organization and others. Unit, help expand the strategic choice space for potential performance entities such as my country's civil aviation companies.
The fourth is to enhance the voice of international voluntary emission reduction transactions. In recent years, the international voluntary carbon market has developed rapidly, with the market scale gradually expanding, the number of mechanisms has increased significantly, and the use of credit indicators has gradually expanded. In addition to developed economies such as the United States and Europe, the enthusiasm of developing countries to participate in and even launch the international voluntary emission reduction trading initiative has increased. Competition and games among all parties around relevant technical standards and regulatory requirements for international voluntary emission reduction trading have become increasingly fierce. In this context, promoting the expansion of the scale of my country's voluntary carbon market and guiding its connection with systems such as the international voluntary carbon market will play a key role in strengthening the international influence of my country's voluntary carbon market and enhancing the voice in formulating international voluntary emission reduction trading rules based on my country's practice. Supporting role.
Therefore, in the face of the "double benefits" that may arise from the implementation of the green electricity and green certificate system, we should proceed from a scientific and inclusive perspective, and take strengthening the influence and competitiveness of my country's voluntary carbon market as the starting point, and reasonably determine the two fields. The collaborative path of market mechanisms at the policy design, supervision and management levels meets diversified policy and market needs.
The connection between the CCER mechanism and the green certificate and green power system
It should be recognized that although the CCER mechanism and the green certificate and green electricity system both help to promote greenhouse gas emission reductions, their policy goals are significantly different. The former focuses on stimulating high-level emission reduction actions, while the latter focuses on promoting green power consumption. This feature also leads to significant differences in the requirements of the two in the field of cross-management.
Specifically, with the advancement of full coverage of green certificates and green electricity, if renewable energy CCER projects such as offshore wind power and solar thermal power generation sell the green certificates they have obtained while receiving the CCER, it will result in partial emission reduction contributions being repeatedly stimulated in the voluntary carbon market and the green certificate and green electricity market, resulting in "double benefits", which is also reflected in the recognition conditions set by mainstream international green electricity initiatives such as the international organization RE100. Among them, thanks to technical method requirements such as additionality, the credit indicators issued by the voluntary emission reduction trading mechanism emphasize the additional emission reduction contribution compared with green certificates that only reflect the zero-carbon nature of renewable energy power. Incentives for emission reduction contributions, thereby ensuring that CCER enjoys higher indicator quality and making its application scenarios far exceed the applicable "Scope 2" category represented by indirect emissions such as green certificates. Recently, the European Commission issued draft rules for calculating the carbon footprint of electric vehicle batteries, stipulating that companies cannot reduce the carbon footprint of electricity by purchasing green certificates. The application scenarios of green certificates remain to be seen.
It is not difficult to find that avoiding the "double benefits" of emission reduction contributions from renewable energy power generation projects has become a key focus in coordinating the CCER mechanism and the green power and green certificate system, and is also an important focus in further rationalizing the implementation boundaries between the two. Taking into account the differentiated functions of the above-mentioned mechanism for issuing indicators, as well as the different needs formed by market entities to achieve diversified emission reduction purposes, it is recommended that the green certificate authorities clarify at the administrative level that renewable energy projects shall not repeatedly apply for CCER and green electricity green certificates. Under the premise, owners of such projects are encouraged to independently choose channels for realizing their project emission reduction contributions based on factors such as indicator use, development cost, and applicability of technical requirements, and give them sufficient options and decision-making space. In order to maximize its emission reduction benefits, effectively leverage the role of market mechanisms in promoting the development of low-carbon industries such as renewable energy, ensure the development space of my country's voluntary carbon market, and enhance the international recognition of the CCER mechanism and the green certificate system.
policy recommendations
The first is to promote the construction of a voluntary carbon market and a green power and green certificate system in parallel. Focusing on the differentiated policy positioning of the two, it is clear that the CCER mechanism focuses on stimulating low-carbon projects that meet the requirements of additionality and reflect excellent scientific and technological levels, and selects low-carbon technologies and formats with demonstration and leadership effects in fields such as forestry carbon sinks, renewable energy, methane emission reduction, energy conservation and efficiency improvement, formulate and publish technical standards such as methodology for emission reduction projects, guide the development of emerging low-carbon industries, and meet the market's need for high-quality credit indicators. The green electricity and green certificate system focuses on comprehensively and accurately confirming the zero-carbon attributes of various types of green electricity and connects with institutional requirements such as non-fossil energy consumption.
The second is to strengthen cross-departmental policy coordination and communication. The CCER mechanism and the green certificate and green power system are respectively led by the ecological environment, energy, development and reform departments, and it is recommended that all relevant departments do adequate information sharing. In response to the concern of the green certificate authorities that "double benefits" affect the recognition of green certificates, it is recommended that the green certificate mechanism further improve the top-level design, formulate and promulgate relevant policies and regulations, and clarify the freezing of green certificates when renewable energy projects participate in the CCER mechanism., cancellation and repurchase rules to avoid unnecessary concerns among market entities about participating in national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction transactions due to inter-departmental policy conflicts.
The third is to promote the sharing of infrastructure information in the "carbon-electricity" market. In order to ensure the effective implementation of the above-mentioned market mechanism management requirements, we should promote the interconnection of the CCER mechanism and the relevant registration systems of the green power and green certificate system, promote the exchange of information between market mechanisms in the two fields, and ensure that the supervision teams of each mechanism can grasp the registration of renewable energy power generation and other projects., indicator issuance, circulation, use, etc. For owners of such projects who plan to apply for registration of CCER projects, the green certificate authority may freeze or cancel the green certificates related to the project according to the circumstances. Projects that have already traded green certificates may require them to repurchase and cancel the same amount of green certificates, and disclose them to the public to avoid unnecessary "double benefits" after corresponding indicators flow into the trading market, and ensure market fairness and seriousness.
Author's unit: National Center for Strategic Research and International Cooperation on Climate Change
