The heads of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered reporters' questions on the "Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading".
On January 25, 2024, Premier Li Qiang signed Decree No. 775 of the State Council, promulgating the Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which will come into force on May 1, 2024. A few days ago, the responsible persons of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment answered questions from reporters on the relevant issues of the "Regulations".
Q: Please briefly introduce the background of the promulgation of the Regulations.
A: Carbon emission trading is an important policy tool to control and reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions through market mechanisms, and to actively and steadily promote carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In recent years, the construction of China's carbon emission trading market has been steadily promoted. In October 2011, the pilot work of local carbon emission trading markets was launched in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong, Hubei, Shenzhen and other places, the construction of the national carbon emission trading market was launched in December 2017, and the national carbon emission trading market was officially launched in July 2021. Since its launch, the national carbon emission trading market has been running smoothly as a whole, covering an average of about 5.1 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, accounting for more than 40% of the country's total emissions. By the end of 2023, a total of 2,257 power generation companies have been included in the national carbon emission trading market, with a cumulative turnover of about 440 million tons and a turnover of about 24.9 billion yuan. At the same time, the shortcomings in the construction of the national carbon emission trading market system are becoming increasingly obvious. Previously, there were no laws and administrative regulations on the management of carbon emission trading in China, and the operation and management of the national carbon emission trading market were implemented in accordance with the rules and documents of the relevant departments of the State Council. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly proposed to improve the carbon emission market trading system. The formulation of the "Regulations" is a specific measure to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and it is also an objective need for the construction and development of China's carbon emission trading market.
Q: What is the general idea of formulating the "Regulations" this time?
Answer: The formulation of the "Regulations" adheres to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, thoroughly implements Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, and mainly grasps the following points in the overall idea: First, summarize practical experience, adhere to the whole process management, cover all major links of carbon emission trading, and avoid institutional gaps and blind spots. Second, based on the fact that China's carbon emission trading is a new thing and is still being explored, it is important to build a basic institutional framework, maintain the necessary flexibility in the design of relevant systems, and leave room for future development. The third is to adhere to the problem-oriented, focus on improving the system and mechanism in view of the prominent problem of carbon emission data fraud, effectively prevent and punish, and ensure the function of the carbon emission trading policy.
Q: What kind of regulatory regime does the Regulations define for carbon emissions trading?
A: Clarifying the supervision and management system is an important aspect of strengthening the management of carbon emission trading, and it is also one of the important purposes of formulating the Regulations. The "Regulations" make it clear that the competent department of ecology and environment of the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and management of carbon emission trading and related activities, and other relevant departments shall be responsible for the supervision and management of carbon emission trading and related activities in accordance with the division of duties; In order to improve the efficiency of supervision, the Regulations also stipulate that the competent department of ecology and environment of the State Council shall establish a national carbon emission trading market management platform, strengthen the supervision of the whole process of carbon emission trading and related activities, and achieve information sharing with relevant departments.
Q: In what ways does the Regulations construct the basic institutional framework for the management of carbon emission trading?
Answer: The "Regulations" build the basic institutional framework for the management of carbon emission trading from six aspects: First, the legal status and responsibilities of registration institutions and trading institutions. The national carbon emission allowance registration agency is responsible for the registration of carbon emission trading products and provides trading and settlement services, and the national carbon emission allowance trading agency is responsible for organizing and carrying out centralized and unified trading of carbon emission allowances. The second is the coverage of carbon emission trading, as well as trading products, trading entities and trading methods. The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall study and propose the types of greenhouse gases (currently carbon dioxide) and the scope of industries to be covered by carbon emission trading, and shall be implemented after approval by the State Council; The third is the determination of key emitting enterprises. The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, formulate conditions for determining key emitting entities, and the competent department of ecology and environment of the provincial-level government shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, formulate an annual list of key emitting enterprises. Fourth, the allocation of carbon emission allowances. The competent department of ecology and environment under the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall formulate an annual total amount and allocation plan for carbon emission allowances, and the competent department of ecology and environment of the provincial-level government shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, issue quotas to key emitting enterprises accordingly。 Fifth, the preparation and verification of emission reports. Key emitting enterprises shall prepare an annual greenhouse gas emission report, and the competent department of ecology and environment of the provincial-level government shall verify the report and confirm the actual emissions。 Sixth, the settlement of carbon emission allowances and market transactions. Key emitting enterprises shall, on the basis of the verification results, pay their carbon emission allowances in full, and may purchase or sell carbon emission allowances through the national carbon emission trading market, and the purchased carbon emission allowances can be used for settlement。
Q: What institutional measures are stipulated in the Regulations for the falsification of carbon emission data?
A: The authenticity of emission data is the basic premise for the normal operation of carbon emission trading and the function of policy. In terms of preventing and punishing the falsification of carbon emission data, the "Regulations" mainly make provisions in four aspects: First, strengthen the main responsibility of key emitting enterprises. Key emitting enterprises are required to formulate and strictly implement emission data quality control plans, truthfully and accurately calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, prepare annual emission reports, and be responsible for the authenticity, completeness and accuracy of the reports, disclose information to the public in accordance with regulations, and keep original records and management ledgers. The second is to strengthen the management of technical service institutions. The technical service institutions entrusted to carry out inspection and testing related to greenhouse gas emissions shall comply with the requirements of the relevant national technical regulations and technical specifications, bear corresponding responsibilities for the inspection and testing reports issued, and shall not issue false reports; Carry out relevant business fairly, bear corresponding responsibilities for the annual emission report and technical audit opinions issued, and shall not tamper with or falsify data, use false data or carry out other fraudulent acts; The third is to strengthen supervision and inspection. It stipulates that the competent department of ecology and environment and other departments responsible for supervision and management may conduct on-site inspections of key emitting enterprises and technical service institutions, clarify the measures that can be taken for on-site inspections, and require the inspected persons to truthfully report the situation and provide information, and shall not refuse or obstruct them. Fourth, increase the severity of punishment. For those who commit fraud in the inspection and testing related to greenhouse gas emissions, the preparation of annual emission reports and technical audits, strict penalties such as fines, orders to suspend production for rectification, cancellation of relevant qualifications, and prohibition from engaging in corresponding businesses, and the establishment of a credit record system.
Q: After the implementation of the Regulations, what will happen to the local carbon emission trading market?
A: The Regulations apply to carbon emission trading and related activities in the national carbon emission trading market. For the local carbon emission trading market, the "Regulations" have made provisions from two aspects: first, the local carbon emission trading market established before the implementation of the "Regulations" shall refer to the provisions of the "Regulations" to improve the relevant management system and strengthen supervision and management. Second, after the implementation of the "Regulations", no new local carbon emission trading markets will be established, and key emitting enterprises will no longer participate in the carbon emission trading of local carbon emission trading markets of the same greenhouse gas types and industries.
Q: In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the "Regulations", what other work will be carried out by the relevant parties?
A: There is a lot of work to be done to ensure the smooth implementation and implementation of the Regulations. Relevant parties will focus on carrying out work in three aspects: First, continue to do a good job in publicity and implementation. The "Regulations" are relatively professional, and it is necessary to adopt a variety of ways to publicize the "Regulations" to help the staff of relevant departments, key emission units, relevant technical service institutions and other units and individuals to better grasp the content of the "Regulations", understand the essence of the spirit, and know the law and abide by the law. This is a foundational work. The second is to follow up the supporting system in a timely manner. The "Regulations" establish the basic institutional framework for the management of carbon emission trading, but to truly implement it, it is inseparable from the supporting regulations, methods, standards and other more specific and operational provisions to support. Relevant supporting regulations should be introduced in a timely manner. The third is to improve the regulatory infrastructure. The management of carbon emission trading is professional and technical, and the support of infrastructure is very important to effectively implement supervision. Among them, the national carbon emission trading market management platform plays an important role in the implementation of the whole process and all-round dynamic supervision and the improvement of supervision. The "Regulations" have made clear provisions on the construction of the national carbon emission trading market management platform, and the relevant parties will take the implementation of the "Regulations" as an opportunity to coordinate and integrate all aspects of the force, accelerate the construction of the management platform, improve the level of informatization and intelligence of supervision, and form a joint regulatory force.
