Environment Minister Xue Fusheng said today (20th) that a carbon fee review committee will be formed at the end of this month, with a total of 21 members, including six representatives of citizen groups, and a draft carbon fee rate will be released by the end of March. He revealed that in the future, if industry adopts the SBTi EU carbon reduction standard, it is not ruled out that they can enjoy more than half of the "very, very large" discount rate, which will be quite attractive to the industry.
my country's major carbon emitters will start paying carbon fees next year (2025), but the draft rates and preferential measures have not yet been made public. The Ministry of Environment held a media dinner this afternoon. During the meeting, Xue Fusheng pointed out in a joint interview with the media that the Ministry of Environment is currently selecting members for the "Carbon Fee Review Committee", with a total of 21 members, including six representatives of citizen groups.
Xue Fusheng said that he would consider the balance of civil society roles and invite public associations to join the discussion. "It should not be limited to environmental groups." The members of the review committee will be selected at the end of February and two review meetings will be held to launch the carbon dioxide emissions reduction meeting at the end of March. The relevant drafts such as fee rates and preferential rates will be announced after a two-month discussion period.
Regarding the dispute over the "25,000 tons exemption amount" in the "Carbon Fee Designated Reduction Targets and Independent Reduction Plan Review Methods" (referred to as the preferential rate draft), Xue Fusheng said that the original intention was to avoid "24,900 tons without payment" ", 25,100 tons must be paid in full" is an unfair situation that the Ministry of Environment believes is very reasonable and has been agreed by the majority of people. When asked about the objections of civil society groups, he changed his subject and said, "This part (draft) has not been finalized yet, it is just in the stage of collecting opinions."
Xue Fusheng further explained the preferential rate draft. If businesses adopt the EU's "Science-Based Targets" (SBTi) carbon reduction standard, "the discount we will give them will be very, very large." For those who cannot adopt SBTi, the Ministry of Environment will also We consider different industry types and set specific goals, and provide discounts after reaching them. "Of course the discount will be a little lower."
As for the "very, very big" discount? Xue Fusheng said that "it will not be exempted," but he did not rule out cutting the fee in half, "or even higher than half." However, he also emphasized that it is too early to talk about discounts at the moment, and the results of the carbon fee review need to be considered at the same time.
Xue Fusheng mentioned that the domestic petrochemical, steel, and cement industries do not rule out facing impacts due to ECFA issues, and he hopes that the Carbon Fee Review Committee will consider subjective and objective factors to find a reasonable rate. He emphasized that neither the economic situation, the possible increase in electricity prices in April, nor the current caretaker cabinet phase will affect the pace of promoting carbon fees.
Source: Environmental Information Center
