Officials from the UK Climate Change Office carbon trading delegation, who visited China on January 25, stated that UK carbon trading companies value the Chinese carbon market and are willing to share their experience with Chinese partners. In addition to continuing to seek new Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, the UK is also optimistic about new carbon trading possibilities, such as reducing carbon emissions in Chinese industries.
Tom Bouwens, Deputy Director of the UK's Office for Climate Change, stated on the 26th, "China is the world's largest seller of CDM carbon credits, and the UK is the world's largest buyer. There are many opportunities in China, which is why the UK wants to strengthen ties with China." Senior executives from over 10 UK carbon trading companies, including Ecobridge and Climate Change Assets Group, are participating in this trip to China. From the 25th to the 29th, they will hold discussions with Chinese representatives in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, covering topics such as the development of Chinese CDM projects, financing for carbon emission reduction, and carbon trading financial derivatives. The UK is a global leader in carbon trading experience. The UK established the world's first national greenhouse gas trading mechanism in 2002. When the EU-ETS, currently the world's largest carbon trading mechanism, was established, the UK had already been operating for three years. Many carbon trading companies have chosen London as their headquarters.
China has initially established a three-way balance in its carbon trading market. This includes the Beijing Environment Exchange, the Tianjin Emissions Exchange, and the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange. The Tianjin Emissions Exchange has already begun trading sulfur dioxide emissions, while the Beijing Environment Exchange has launched a market for voluntary carbon emission reduction by companies and released the "Panda Standard" for voluntary carbon reduction during the Copenhagen conference. Tom said that British companies welcome the rapid development of China's carbon trading market, as it will bring many benefits and allow for more trading activities. Currently, the EU has three main carbon exchanges: the European Environment Exchange (ECX) in London, Bluenext in Paris, and Nordpool in Norway.
Although the Copenhagen Accord failed to reach a legally binding target for reducing carbon emissions, Tom Bervens believes it was not a complete failure. The Copenhagen Accord reached a consensus on limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, and more developed developing countries also have their own domestic climate change mitigation plans. Compared to the carbon intensity targets proposed by China and India, Tom suggests that carbon trading companies may find it easier to find investment opportunities in South Africa and Brazil, given their commitments to absolute reductions in carbon emissions.
– Reference source: Securities Star, 2010-01-27
– For reference only, please refer to the original text.
