Zhu Guohui, General Manager of China Carbon Deng: The national carbon market is about to expand, the participants will become more and more diverse, and the market vitality will be further released

"Thisyear, the country will further expand the industry coverage of the national carbon market. It is expected that the steel, cement, and electrolytic aluminum industries will also be included in the national carbon market." On July 21, Zhu Guohui, general manager of Carbon Emissions Registration and Settlement (Wuhan) Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as China Carbon Deng), said in an interview with this reporter at the 2024 China Carbon Market Conference.

Zhu Guohui, General Manager of Carbon Emissions Registration and Settlement (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., was interviewed by this newspaper. Photo by Xing Peng

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to improve the institutional system of ecological civilization, coordinate the promotion of carbon reduction, pollution reduction, green expansion, and growth, and actively respond to climate change. This year's government work report also clearly stated that it is necessary to expand the coverage of the national carbon market industry. Talking about the development trend of the expansion of the national carbon market, Zhu Guohui said that the construction of the national carbon market is a step-by-step process, and its future development trend can be briefly summarized into four aspects.

First, the national carbon market will continue to follow the strategic deployment of the national "14th Five-Year Plan". Eight major industries will be gradually incorporated into the carbon market system. In the future, the national carbon market capacity will gradually expand and the industry coverage will continue to expand. Second, the current market access is mainly limited to enterprises with high emission intensity in the power industry. However, according to relevant regulations, investors and other institutions that are compliant in the future may be allowed to participate, and financial institutions and other participants and transactions will also increase in the future. The number of participants in the carbon market will also become more and more diversified, which will further release market vitality. Third, if the allocation of quotas is further tightened in the future or a paid allocation mechanism is adopted to a certain extent, carbon prices may show an upward trend. Fourth, broadening the path of international cooperation in the carbon market has become an important issue. On the premise of ensuring desensitization of sensitive data, how to deepen exchanges and cooperation with the international community will be a key area that urgently needs in-depth thinking and planning in the future.

"It can be seen from the participating companies in this carbon market conference that the conference invited industries including cement, steel, nonferrous metals, chemical and other industries to participate, which has already sent some signals." Zhu Guohui said that relevant departments are currently actively promoting the expansion of the carbon market and industry quota plans in the subsequent performance cycle. The expansion of the carbon market and the improvement of the policy system are being vigorously promoted. At present, China Carbon Corporation is ready for expansion in terms of software and hardware development and construction. At the same time, it has carried out in-depth docking and research work with relevant industry associations and financial institutions to conduct advanced research and preparation for the innovative development of carbon finance after the future expansion of the carbon market. For enterprises, Zhu Guohui emphasized that enterprises should make corresponding preparations in advance, and said that in the future, China Carbon Corporation will provide special training to enterprises that will be included in the scope of expansion through the development of simulation systems and other work to help enterprises master new rules and management systems as soon as possible. Ensure smooth transition and effective participation.

Zhu Guohui also said that balancing development and security will be a major challenge for the future development of the carbon market. From a development perspective, there are still views that the carbon market will bring operational pressure to the development of enterprises due to the cost of emission reduction. However, from a security perspective, ensuring human well-being and responding to global climate change are still urgent needs. Therefore, how to ensure the development of enterprises while solidly and effectively promote the construction of carbon markets and achieve development while protecting and protecting while developing is an important issue that still needs to be considered in the future.