May 1 will come into effect, authoritative experts talk about the "Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading"
China's first special regulation on climate change, the Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emissions Trading (hereinafter referred to as the "Interim Regulations"), will come into force on May 1 this year.
At the 22nd China International Environmental Protection Exhibition recently held an expert dialogue on the impact and countermeasures of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), relevant experts said: "The promulgation of this regulation is a milestone, and it is the first administrative regulation in the strict sense of the law to implement the climate change Convention in China in more than 30 years. It is applicable nationwide and is very important and special. ”
Three highlights of the Interim Regulations:
Introduce a system that combines voluntary and compulsory transactions, administrative supervision and market regulation, state supervision and social supervision
The Interim Regulations make comprehensive provisions on the whole process of carbon trading. One of the highlights of the event is the introduction of a system that combines voluntary and compulsory transactions.
The Interim Regulations stipulate that "key emitting entities may, in accordance with relevant national regulations, purchase certified greenhouse gas emission reductions for the purpose of clearing their carbon emission allowances." ”
"At present, the main provisions in the Interim Regulations are mandatory carbon emission trading," the expert said. In addition, in light of the practice of previous years, the regulation also stipulates that certified emission reduction projects in voluntary emission reduction agreement projects can enter the carbon market. Relevant enterprises can be included in the national trading system through purchase, which reflects the characteristics of a combination of compulsory trading and market trading. ”
He believes that another highlight of the "Interim Regulations" is that it embodies the combination of administrative supervision and market regulation. These carbon allowances can be traded. Enterprises with surplus carbon allowances can transfer their allowances to benefit, or they can keep their allowances in the enterprise to serve the further development of the enterprise. Enterprises with gaps can purchase quotas. Therefore, it has formed a benign mechanism, that is, emission reduction has benefits and emissions have costs, and through the adjustment mechanism of market prices, it promotes carbon emission reduction for the whole society at low cost.
The third highlight is the combination of state supervision and social supervision. "One of the mechanisms here is the introduction of a social credit adjustment mechanism. If an enterprise commits serious fraud or social untrustworthiness in this regard, it may be included in the social credit blacklist. This is the use of soft credit constraints to promote enterprises to consciously legalize, abide by regulations, and comply with contracts. ”
Local carbon markets and national carbon markets should gradually move from parallel to integrated
After the "Interim Regulations" come into effect, what social effects may be produced? Experts said: "The regulations obviously have a certain stage, so the social effects after implementation need to be evaluated, summarized, and improved in real time. ”
What needs to be done to facilitate the smooth implementation of this regulation?
According to the expert: "The first is to organize propaganda and learning and training. Second, improve the supporting systems and measures. At present, there are seven or eight internationally recognized greenhouse gases, and this regulation is currently mainly aimed at carbon dioxide, methane and other gases with greenhouse effect in the combustion of thermal power plants. The scope of industries and gases to which the regulations apply needs to be further expanded. At present, there are seven or eight key industries recognized as carbon emissions in China, including steel, thermal power, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, and even transportation, in addition to thermal power, including steel, thermal power, non-ferrous metals, petrochemicals, and even transportation. Thirdly, the rules and rules should be further improved. This work is also a new type of mechanism for the relevant authorities in China, so there are many technical methodological issues that need to be further studied. Not only China, but also the more mature EU market is gradually improving. ”
On the question of how to integrate the voluntary emission reduction market and the national carbon market, experts believe that before the implementation of the Interim Regulations, the two sets of mechanisms operated in parallel. After the promulgation of the regulations, these two sets of mechanisms should also be improved in accordance with the requirements of this rule, and gradually achieve the integration of local carbon markets and national carbon market mechanisms.
The Interim Regulations stipulate that "after the implementation of these Regulations, no new local carbon emission trading markets will be established, and key emitting entities will no longer participate in the carbon emission trading of local carbon emission trading markets of the same greenhouse gas types and industries." "At the same time, the existing local carbon markets should be further regulated in accordance with the requirements of the regulations.
Financial services technology institutions should actively participate in promoting the implementation of the Interim Regulations
Methodology is an important part of the carbon market system. Experts believe that it is necessary for pollutant dischargers, financial service technical institutions, including consulting companies to familiarize themselves with the rules, learn and understand the preparation of methodologies. Attention should be paid to the accounting methods of fixed point source carbon emissions in the compulsory trading market and the methodologies involved in CCER projects. In the fields of forest carbon sink, grassland carbon sink, marine carbon sink, and physical carbon sink, there are a large number of methodologies that are worth developing and exchanging. We need to learn from the experience of the EU market, but we also need to adapt it to China's national conditions.
In this regard, as the organizer of the event, Li Jing, Partner of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Greater China Financial Services, and Director of ESG Management Office, Greater China of Ernst & Young (China) Advisory Co., Ltd., said: "We have also made some attempts in the carbon field, such as supporting many large enterprises to set carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, strategic plans, timetables and roadmaps. In the process of formulating the plan, there are several aspects involved. The first is the development of methodology. The Chinese market is the richest market in the world, with many industries and companies, and there are many products that do not currently have a methodology and we need to start from scratch, so we support these companies to develop emission reduction methodologies suitable for their industry products. The second is to attach great importance to data quality. More and more enterprises need to use IT systems and innovative tools in modern management, and we will also develop some IT tools that are in line with the "3060" goal, such as the "3060" carbon management system. This system is designed to help enterprises obtain relevant data and information with one click, generate relevant reports with one click, and help enterprises better know their current carbon emission level, which branches and subsidiaries are not doing well, and which are doing well. We will give early warning to those who do not do well, and promote those who do well at the whole group level. These systems can also help enterprises grasp data information reasonably, effectively, accurately and truthfully. ”
In addition, many enterprises are in great need of financial support in the process of reducing pollution and carbon emissions. Recently, the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development" to promote green finance and actively support green and low-carbon development.
Li Jing said: "We actively support major financial institutions to increase investment in green finance and transition finance, and use funds where they are needed. The focus is on reducing pollution and carbon emissions, including the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the continued expansion of the renewable energy industry. The task is still very heavy, and many enterprises are facing huge challenges, but the prospects are very good. As far as the Shanghai carbon market price is concerned, the average price is 40 yuan/ton to 60 yuan/ton, and the highest has risen to 90 yuan/ton, while the EU carbon price is basically 50 euros/ton to 70 euros/ton, and the gap between the two is relatively large. Of course, we can't directly compare horizontally, behind which are different stages of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and different costs. However, everyone is unanimously optimistic about the size of China's carbon market in the future. ”
