How to strengthen the international recognition of China's green certificates→?
"The full name of the green certificate is the renewable energy green power certificate, which is the certificate of renewable energy electricity consumption. In the face of competition from customers and supply chains, carbon reduction is one of the important factors for enterprises to win trade rights and competitive advantages in the international market. Jiang Ying, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of Deloitte China, told a reporter from China Environment News.
In recent years, the growth rate of China's green certificate issuance and transaction scale has far exceeded market expectations, and has entered a new stage of rapid development. However, as decarbonization becomes a new requirement for global trade, how to provide standardized data and low-carbon products has become a new challenge. To this end, a reporter from China Environment News interviewed Jiang Ying, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chairman of Deloitte China.
What are the challenges in the development of green certificates in China?
According to market data, the global green certificate market exceeded US$10 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand to US$100 billion by 2030. The strong demand shows that the international community is paying more and more attention to green energy consumption, the environmental attribute value represented by green certificates is increasingly recognized by the market, and green energy has gradually become an important component of products.
China is one of the countries with the most green energy resources in the world, and if the green certificate and green electricity trading market mechanism system can be internationally recognized, it can meet the green energy consumption needs of more multinational enterprises, greatly expand and enhance the activity of the international green certificate market, and promote global green energy trading.
Domestically, new measures have been introduced at the policy level to promote the development of green certificates in China.
In August 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the National Energy Administration issued the Notice on Promoting Renewable Energy Electricity Consumption with Full Coverage of Renewable Energy Green Electricity Certificates (Circular 1044It proposes that green certificates are the only proof of the environmental attributes of renewable energy in China, and the only proof of renewable energy power production and consumption, and expand the scope of green certificates to hydropower, offshore wind power, distributed photovoltaic power generation, biomass power generation, etc.
On February 2, 2024, the National Development and Reform Commission and other three departments announced the "Notice on Strengthening the Convergence of Green Power Certificates and Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Policies and Vigorously Promoting Non-fossil Energy Consumption", which clearly included the amount of electricity corresponding to green certificate trading in the "14th Five-Year Plan" provincial people's government's energy conservation target responsibility evaluation and assessment index accounting.
Due to multiple factors, the number of green certificate transactions in China will rise sharply in 2023, with only 2.006 million green certificates traded in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei alone, an increase of 72.2 times year-on-year, and a survey shows that 30% of the surveyed Dongguan foreign trade enterprises are required to provide green certificates by customers. It is expected that by 2030, green certificates will become a common requirement for international trade.
"However, at present, the international recognition of China's green certificates is low, and the international mutual recognition mechanism has not yet been implemented, which directly affects the international competitiveness of Chinese enterprises. Jiang Ying said, "At present, China's green certificate is not traceable, which directly affects its credibility, China's green certificate system and the carbon market lack of coordination, resulting in limited universality of green certificates, and the policy stipulates that domestic projects can only apply for international green certificates, which is not conducive to improving their international recognition, although document 1044 proposes to actively promote the green consumption of international organizations, carbon emission reduction system and domestic green certificate convergence, but at present, only a programmatic document has been issued, and there is still a lack of specific implementation rules." ”
How to improve the international recognition of China's green certificates?
The international recognition of China's green certificate is directly related to the vital interests of a large number of export-oriented enterprises in China, and affects China's positioning and competitiveness in the future international supply chain and industrial chain.
"In the context of meeting the decarbonization requirements of international customers' supply chains and the development of the domestic green certificate system, it is very important for Chinese foreign trade enterprises to cope with international trade challenges and enhance their international competitiveness by enhancing the international influence of domestic green certificates and promoting international mutual recognition. Jiang Ying told reporters, "International leading enterprises actively promote the decarbonization of the supply chain, and join RE100, SBTi and other initiatives, green certificates have become a key element of global trade, and Chinese foreign trade enterprises need to adapt to the requirements of international customers for green certificates." ”
In view of the current low international recognition of China's green certificates, and the mutual recognition mechanism with international green certificates has not yet been implemented. Jiang Ying suggested that first of all, a tracking and supervision system should be established to improve the traceability and credibility of China's green certificates.
"If a cancellation mechanism is introduced, that is, green certificates must be cancelled after use, and they cannot be reused, and the cancellation record is open to all market participants. With the help of blockchain technology, it ensures that the data of green certificate development, transaction, use, and cancellation are not tampered with and traceable throughout the process. It is recommended to expand the demonstration and application scope of blockchain green certificate projects, and a working group composed of the National Development and Reform Commission, the Energy Administration, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment should promote the application results of China's green certificate blockchain to international organizations such as RE100 and SBTi. Jiang Ying said.
Second, clarify the responsibilities of the main regulatory authorities and enhance the synergy between green certificates and the carbon market. Jiang Ying mentioned that it is recommended that the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment work together to sort out and optimize the environmental attribute development mechanism of renewable energy projects, and clarify their respective responsibilities. In terms of emission reduction contributions, the weight allocation and function definition of green certificates and carbon market mechanisms should be carried out, and mutual recognition of indicators and deduction mechanisms should be clarified. As China explores the international integration of the carbon market, the connection between green certificates and the carbon market will lay the foundation for improving the application and recognition of domestic green certificates in the international carbon market.
Finally, accelerate the formulation of detailed rules for the implementation of international mutual recognition, and promote the implementation of pilot projects in key foreign trade areas, and then promote them to the whole country. Jiang Ying suggested that the National Energy Administration, local authorities, international green certificate issuing institutions, industry experts and key stakeholders should form a working group to analyze the differences between domestic and foreign systems, identify obstacles to mutual recognition, and propose solutions. Pilot projects will be implemented in free trade zones or specific industries to explore the mutual recognition of Chinese green certificates and international green certificates, and data will be collected through these pilots to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of mutual recognition, so as to provide a practical basis for the full implementation of mutual recognition.
