The "National Carbon Emissions Trading Power Generation Industry Quota Total and Allocation Plan for 2023 and 2024" was reviewed

On August 30, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference in August. Pei Xiaofei, spokesperson of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, answered questions from daily economic news reporters on the "National Carbon Emissions Trading Power Generation Industry Quota Total and Allocation Plan for 2023 and 2024".

Pei Xiaofei said that in accordance with the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment has actively promoted the construction of the national carbon emissions trading market. Since July 2021, the power generation industry has launched online trading, and has successfully completed two performance cycles. At present, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment is taking the lead in carrying out work related to the third compliance cycle. In accordance with the overall requirements of "seeking progress while maintaining stability, serving the overall situation, and encouraging advanced", it has compiled the "National Carbon Emissions Trading Power Generation Industry Quota Total and Allocation Plan".

Pei Xiaofei introduced that the "Plan" combines the requirements of the new work situation and the opinions and suggestions of all parties to optimize and adjust the following aspects.

The first is to optimize the performance schedule. Change from one performance in two years to one performance in one year. The first two performance cycles of the national carbon market are both biennially compliant. This "Plan" sets the performance deadlines for 2023 and 2024 at the end of 2024 and the end of 2025 respectively, achieving performance once a year, alleviating the problem of cluster transactions, and enhancing market activity.

The second is to adjust the caliber of statistical accounting. In order to prevent data quality risks from the source and improve the scientificity and rationality of the quota allocation method, the "Plan" has made improvements in several aspects such as adjusting the basic parameters of quota calculation, optimizing the scope of control, and simplifying and optimizing various correction coefficients.

Third, the carbon emission benchmark value under comparable standards has been slightly tightened. Taking into account factors such as the progress of completing the national carbon emission intensity target during the "14th Five-Year Plan", the benchmark carbon emission values in 2023 and 2024 will drop by about 1%. This method can not only maintain certain pressure on emission reduction, but also ensure smooth operation of the market within the limits of enterprises.

On this basis, in order to effectively solve the problems of reluctance to sell by enterprises with quota surplus, inactive market transactions, and high pressure on enterprises with quota deficit to perform, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment proposed quota carry-over measures based on in-depth research and fully drawing on the mature experience of domestic and foreign carbon markets. In fact, only companies with surplus quotas need to carry forward quotas. They need to sell a certain proportion of surplus quotas for 2024 and previous years before they can carry forward the remaining part as quotas for 2025 for continued use. It is estimated that under the current carry-over measures, enterprises with surplus quotas will be encouraged to gradually release quotas to the market that are roughly equivalent to their performance needs, so as to better balance market supply and demand. In addition, the carry-over deadline is set at December 31, 2025, allowing companies enough time to formulate trading plans to avoid clusters of transactions in the short term, which will cause abnormal fluctuations in carbon prices.

Pei Xiaofei said that in the next step, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will strengthen market management, closely track the trading activities of key emission units, jointly carry out risk management, and maintain the healthy and orderly development of the carbon emissions trading market.