MNI BRIEF: China Aims To Expand Carbon Trading Market Soon

China will expand its national carbon emission trading market as soon as possible and extend the market mechanism to more sectors, said Zhao Yingmin, vice minister at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment at a press conference Monday.

Authorities will prioritise the inclusion of key industries with large carbon emissions, serious overcapacity, and solid data quality, said Zhao. He noted the market currently includes the power generation industry which produces about 5.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year and accounts for over 40% of the total emissions.

While the other seven key sectors, namely steel, building materials, nonferrous metals, petrochemicals, chemicals, papermaking, and aviation, have not yet been subjected to quota control, the ministry has started the verification of their carbon emission accounting reports, said Zhao. These eight sectors account for 75% of the total emission.

MNI reported late last year the rebound of the China's steel industry hinged on the success of government policy to support property and new manufacturing. (See MNI: China 2024 Steel Demand Hinges On Property Investment)