Develop carbon finance and activate the carbon market

"Personally feel the significance and impact of the carbon market on the operation and management of enterprises", "Continuously promote clean and low-carbon transformation and development in the process of active implementation"... It has been two years since China's carbon emissions trading market was launched, and power companies participating in carbon trading have said that under the role of the carbon market, their awareness and ability to reduce emissions have been effectively improved. The data shows that in the past two years, the number of enterprises participating in carbon trading has increased significantly, the cumulative trading volume of carbon emission allowances has exceeded 239 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, and the cumulative transaction volume has reached more than 11 billion yuan.

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China put forward: "Improve the carbon emission statistical accounting system and improve the carbon emission rights market trading system." "The construction of a national carbon emission trading market is a major institutional innovation that uses market mechanisms to control and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, promote green and low-carbon development, and is an important policy tool to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality." Since the carbon market is traded with carbon emission allowances as the underlying asset, it is a relatively typical warrant market with strong financial attributes. Therefore, the development of carbon finance is crucial to building a good carbon market.

As an important part of China's green financial system, carbon finance refers to the financial financing activities based on carbon emission rights trading, using carbon allowances and carbon credits and other carbon emission rights and interests as the medium or target to serve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon sink capacity. Carbon finance can provide tools such as trading, financing and asset management for the carbon market, and play an important role in promoting the carbon market to form a reasonable carbon price and enhance trading activity. For example, carbon emission futures can help the carbon market better realize the price discovery function and enhance the liquidity of the carbon market by providing open, transparent, efficient and authoritative forward prices. Products such as carbon bonds and carbon asset pledge financing can revitalize corporate carbon assets and finance enterprises with carbon allowances; Carbon index and carbon insurance can provide risk protection for carbon trading...

At present, the results of China's carbon finance practice are gradually emerging. In April last year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) issued industry standards for carbon financial products, clarifying the classification of carbon financial products, giving specific implementation requirements for carbon financial products, and providing guidance for financial institutions to develop and implement carbon financial products. Under the guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Guangzhou Futures Exchange has steadily promoted the research and development of carbon emission futures, and has formed a complete set of carbon emission futures contract system design schemes, including futures contract months, delivery systems and risk control. Financial institutions have carried out the innovation and application of carbon financial products such as carbon insurance, carbon quota pledge, "carbon neutral" bonds, and carbon structured deposits, and more financial resources have been invested in the field of carbon emission reduction.

The development of carbon finance requires more unified and perfect institutional rules. Only by formulating unified carbon finance market access and trading methods and trading rules for carbon financial products can we better promote the fairness and efficiency of the carbon financial market. Under the premise of the rule of law, standards for market access, trading and accounting for carbon finance should be further refined, and strict operational rules for risk management, information disclosure and penalties for violations should be established to ensure the standardization and sustainability of carbon financial products.

The development of carbon finance requires more policy support. At present, China's policy tools to support the development of green finance are constantly being enriched and improved, and carbon finance needs more and more targeted special support policies. For example, the development of carbon finance will be included in the evaluation system of financial institutions, and green channels will be opened for the input and innovative development of carbon financial products.

The development of carbon finance also requires more product innovation. China has established the world's largest carbon market covering greenhouse gas emissions, and carbon finance business has great potential. Financial institutions should take a long-term view, increase their participation in and enthusiasm in carbon finance, actively develop carbon finance products and expand carbon finance business based on the actual development of the domestic carbon market, and become the leading force in the active carbon market by providing diversified products and services.

In fact, the development of carbon finance and carbon market complement each other, and while enhancing the vitality of carbon market, the development of carbon finance also depends on the development of carbon market itself. With the expansion of the national carbon market, the development space of carbon finance will continue to expand. It is believed that with the continuous improvement of the carbon finance policy system and the continuous enhancement of the vitality of carbon finance innovation, the carbon market will become an important starting point for the "dual carbon" goal of financial services, and carbon finance will also provide a steady stream of development momentum for green development.