In recent years, the global carbon trading market has doubled and the market has become more and more active. Recently,International Environmental ExpoThe "Greater China Carbon Trading Development Foresight Forum" held at the 2016 International Conference on Carbon Trading conducted an in-depth discussion on how to integrate the development of Greater China's carbon trading.
Jeff Huang, Managing Director of Greater China of the Intercontinental Exchange Group (ICE), said that carbon trading refers to two main forms: "Cap and Trade" (Cap and Trade) and "Carbon Offsetting" (Carbon Offsetting). To exempt developed countries and their companies from reduction targets, "cap and trade" was originally used in the US Acid Rain Program (US Acid Rain Program) to set cap controls through governments and intergovernmental organizations. If companies cannot If it meets the total amount, it can be purchased from other people with remaining carbon rights; "carbon offsets" are traded through the emission reductions generated by country-to-country cooperation emission reduction plans. They are usually bought and sold in advance in the form of futures. Among them, the power industry It is a major contributor to carbon emissions in various countries.
The total amount of global carbon rights trading increases every year. The more mature trading systems currently include the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in Europe and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in the United States. ), Greater China is still in its infancy and has huge development potential. The Chinese industry continues to explore how to use these financial tools to help companies achieve the carbon emission reduction goals of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan in terms of emission reduction and risk management.
Shao Shiyang, chairman of the IPPF China Committee, said that carbon prices are mainly determined by the market. However, in order to prevent carbon prices from soaring and bringing excessive emission reduction cost pressure to regulated companies, regulatory agencies often set certain baseline prices. Once the carbon price breaks through At this price, regulatory agencies will have the power to take measures to expand market supply and stabilize carbon prices. "For example, the safety valve mechanism of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiative (RGGI) in the United States. Once the quota price exceeds US$7, RGGI will expand the number of carbon offset credits." proportion, thereby increasing the supply of allowances to stabilize carbon prices.”
Li Jianming, a professor at the Taiwan Carbon Emissions Promotion Association, said that the carbon trading system is cost-effective and has become one of the global policy tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "The latest report from the World Bank pointed out that the total value of the carbon market increased by 11% last year, reaching US$176 billion. The amount of carbon dioxide reached a new high of 10.3 billion tons.”
At present, there are carbon exchanges in mainland China, such as Shanghai Environmental Energy Exchange, Beijing Environment Exchange, Tianjin Emissions Exchange, etc. Li Jianming said that Asian regions such as China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have actively promoted carbon trading systems. If they can be integrated into a Greater China carbon trading market in the future, it will improve the efficiency of the overall carbon market and control the global "Carbon Pricing" Sovereignty. He suggested that "carbon pilots" could be set up in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Taiwan first to serve as a demonstration.
Other speakers include Christine Lok, Deputy Secretary for the Environment of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Zhuang Ning, President of the Sustainable Technology Research and Policy Foundation, and Li Zhengxi, Chairman of Guangzhou Exchange Group Co., Ltd. This year's exhibition, with the theme of "Environmental Technology. Creating a Low-Carbon Economy", attracted 270 environmental protection companies from 14 countries and regions.
Source: Hong Kong Trade Development Council (2012-11-07)
