Huang Zhen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering: It is recommended to accelerate the expansion of the industry coverage of the carbon market
"In view of the current carbon market, it is recommended to accelerate the expansion of the sector coverage of the carbon market, and clarify the sequence and timing of the inclusion of seven high-carbon emission industries (except for the power industry) as soon as possible. At the same time, it is recommended to formulate a roadmap for the development of the national carbon market as soon as possible, and clarify the mechanism for the formation of national carbon prices and the timetable for the reduction of free carbon allowances. ”
Huang Zhen, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and dean of the Institute of Carbon Neutrality and Development of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said in a keynote speech at the first China Carbon Market Conference that accelerating the expansion of the coverage of the carbon market industry and formulating a national carbon market development roadmap as soon as possible is very important for promoting the carbon reduction and decarbonization process of the country's high-energy-consuming and high-carbon emission industries, and at the same time, it will also play an important role in actively responding to the EU's carbon tariffs.
On November 8, the China Carbon Market Conference 2023 Shanghai was held at the Shanghai International Convention Center, with the theme of "Building a Carbon Emission Trading Market and Promoting the Realization of Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality". Huang Zhen delivered a keynote speech on the theme of green energy transition and carbon market development under the goal of carbon neutrality.
Huang Zhen said that green transformation is not only an energy issue, nor is it just a science and technology issue, but also an overall systemic issue. Such a transformation must not be achieved overnight, but gradually, and must be established first and then broken.
For green transformation, "we need to carry out scientific design and decision-making at multiple levels from policies, laws and regulations, science and technology, and the market. The market is also an indispensable, very important supporting factor, and the carbon market is one of the very important markets. Huang Zhen said.
The carbon market is not only an important policy tool, but also an important market mechanism. Huang Zhen said that the carbon market has built a very important constraint and incentive mechanism, giving enterprises a clear quota and price signal for carbon emission reduction. In this way, through the carbon market, carbon allowances, and the expectation of a related carbon tax in the future, the environmental cost of fossil energy can be increased, and the environmental cost and external cost should be internalized, so that the cost of carbon emissions will become higher and higher, and the benefits of carbon reduction will be greater and greater. In this way, the green bargaining becomes smaller and smaller to help the green transition.
For the development of the current carbon market, Huang Zhen suggested that the expansion of the coverage of the carbon market industry should be accelerated, and the order and time of the seven high carbon emissions should be clarified as soon as possible. At the same time, a roadmap for the development of the national carbon market can be formulated as soon as possible, and the mechanism for the formation of carbon prices and the timetable for the reduction of free carbon allowances can be clarified.
The country is restarting the CCER National Certified Voluntary Emission Reduction Market, which is a very important addition to the carbon market. Huang Zhen emphasized that the whole society should be fully mobilized to participate in carbon emission reduction. At the same time, it is very important that not only the carbon market and carbon quotas should be introduced as soon as possible to form an organic complementarity, and finally form a systematic carbon constraint and incentive mechanism.
To develop the carbon market, Huang Zhen put forward four suggestions.
The first is work at the level of laws and regulations. It is necessary to speed up the construction of the legal system for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, including the hope that the legislation of the Law on Climate Change and the Law on the Promotion of Carbon Neutrality can be promoted as soon as possible, and the basic principles, strategic planning, institutional settings, mitigation and adaptation system measures, supervision and management, including legal responsibilities, etc., should be further clarified. At the same time, in the carbon market, key systems such as carbon emission standards, carbon emission accounting, carbon emission monitoring, and carbon emission trading can be included to provide strong legal support for carbon emission trading. At the same time, it is very important to convey a very clear and clear vision of future green development to society and businesses.
The second level is the fundamental level of work related to the carbon market. It is necessary to further speed up the construction of a carbon emission accounting standard system and the construction of a basic database for some important industries, including products. To improve the carbon emission accounting methodology, it is necessary to build a carbon emission factor database and continuously improve its scientific and systematic nature. At the same time, it is necessary to further strengthen the mutual recognition related to international carbon accounting standards. In terms of data collection, it is necessary to make full use of China's Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, including blockchain technology, to build an online direct reporting system for enterprise carbon emission data, and provide systematic and reliable basic data support for the industry's product carbon emission accounting.
Third, we will further accelerate the training of talents in carbon market, carbon accounting, and carbon auditing, and set up undergraduate and graduate majors in carbon management as soon as possible. Including the establishment of a registered carbon auditor, registered carbon asset manager mechanism, for the healthy development of China's carbon market to provide a strong talent guarantee.
The last dimension is the level of international cooperation, which is also very important. It is necessary to establish an international dialogue mechanism for carbon accounting and carbon tariffs, adhere to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, actively strengthen dialogue and consultation with the EU and other regions on carbon accounting and carbon tariff working mechanisms, improve international recognition of China's carbon emission reduction policies, and promote mutual recognition of China's carbon emission and carbon accounting standard system, including carbon quotas and carbon trading.
Huang Zhen believes that the dual carbon goal, especially carbon neutrality, is by no means a concept of overtaking on a track, but a concept of changing tracks. Therefore, carbon neutrality redefines the way human society uses resources, and it will build and lead a new zero-carbon industrial system. The domestic financial community predicts that this will trigger hundreds of billions of industrial and investment opportunities, and a large number of new technologies, new industries, and new business models will be born.
