Expert Interpretation | Focusing on data quality management, we will promote the construction and development of the national carbon emission trading market
The 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 achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. A few days ago, the State Council promulgated the "Interim Regulations on the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"). The promulgation of the "Regulations" is a milestone event in the construction of China's carbon emission trading market, which has opened a new situation of the rule of law in China's carbon emission trading, and is an important measure to implement the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to "improve the carbon emission market trading system", laying an important foundation for the operation and development of the market. 1. The "Regulations" are of great significance to strengthening data quality management The data quality of greenhouse gas emissions is the lifeline to ensure the healthy and orderly development of the national carbon emission trading market, and it is also the basis and premise for the healthy operation of the market. Comprehensive, accurate and authentic carbon emission data is not only the basis for the expansion and vitality of the national carbon emission trading market, but also the key factor affecting the effectiveness of greenhouse gas emission reduction in the current national carbon emission trading market. The promulgation of the Regulations is of great significance to data quality management in the following three aspects. (1) Persist in administering according to law, and improve the level of law-based management of greenhouse gas emission data quality.The first is to raise the legislative level of the national carbon emission trading market. Previously, the construction and supervision of the national carbon emission trading market was mainly based on the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's departmental regulations "Measures for the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading (Trial)", normative documents such as carbon emission rights registration, trading, and settlement management rules, technical specifications such as accounting reports and verification guidelines, and annual work notices for related work. The second is to standardize and consolidate key management systems. The "Regulations" clearly stipulate the key work content and process of data quality management, such as the determination of the list of key emitting enterprises, emission management, verification, information disclosure, supervision and management, and punishment of violations of laws and regulations, and give clear policies and institutional expectations to all participants in the national carbon emission trading market and the public. The third is to clarify the illegal acts of carbon emission trading and their legal responsibilities. Strictly manage, investigate, and punish the violations of laws and regulations by relevant participants in the national carbon emission trading market, and form an effective deterrent, ensure that the national carbon emission trading market operates on the track of the rule of law, and provide strong legal support for the construction of a high-level carbon emission data quality management mechanism and a high-standard market system. (2) Consolidate the main responsibilities of relevant parties and form a comprehensive and efficient data quality management system.The "Regulations" focus on the division of rights and responsibilities, and further rationalize and clarify the data management rights and responsibilities and requirements of relevant competent departments at all levels, key emitting entities, technical service institutions and other entities according to the role positioning of different entities in the key links of the operation of the national carbon emission trading market, and clarify the work coordination mechanism between relevant entities. On the one hand, it is helpful to establish and mobilize the awareness and initiative of the responsible subjects by determining the functional division of all relevant parties in data management, and on the other hand, to form a joint force of regulatory cooperation, ensure the effective connection and smooth progress of various tasks, avoid the weakening of work efficiency and disjointed supervision caused by the blurring of the boundary between rights and responsibilities, form an all-round and all-factor data quality management framework for the national carbon emission trading market, and establish a long-term mechanism for data quality management. (3) Consolidate the foundation of carbon emission data management and stimulate the endogenous driving force for the construction and development of the carbon market.Reliable data quality is the foundation for the healthy operation of the carbon emission trading market, and key emitting enterprises are the key to effectively improving the level of data quality management. As an important subject and direct stakeholder involved in carbon emission trading, some key emitting enterprises currently have problems such as weak carbon emission management capabilities, lack of complete internal data management and carbon asset management systems, and lack of reasonable full-time management positions. The requirements of the "Regulations" for data quality management will help promote the standardization and normalization of the management of carbon emission data quality by key emitting enterprises and relevant technical service institutions. Deepening the correct understanding of carbon emission trading, and then effectively improving the professional ability level of key emitting enterprises and related technical service institutions in carbon emission and carbon asset management, is conducive to improving the activity of market trading and promoting the formation of a reasonable carbon price, better play the role of market mechanisms in controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time lay a good foundation for the transformation of the national carbon emission trading market from intensity control to total control. 2. Establish and improve the data quality management system (1) Establish mechanisms for horizontal inter-ministerial joint supervision of data quality and vertical hierarchical supervision.The Regulations set out overall requirements for the joint regulatory mechanism for carbon emission trading and related activities, and made specific provisions on the aspects and requirements of data quality management. Specifically, the "Regulations" respectively clarify that the competent department of ecology and environment of the State Council, together with the relevant departments of the State Council, shall carry out data quality management work such as the formulation of conditions for the determination of key emitting enterprises, the preparation of annual emission reports and the formulation of specific management measures for technical review, information sharing, and the establishment of a credit record system. In addition to joint supervision at the level of the constituent departments of the State Council, the Regulations also specify that the provincial-level competent department of ecology and environment shall, together with the relevant departments at the same level, formulate an annual list of key emitting enterprises, and stipulate that the competent department of ecology and environment and the relevant competent department may carry out on-site inspections within the scope of their respective responsibilities. Through the above provisions, the regulatory responsibilities of the ecological environment department and other relevant departments are clarified, which will help give full play to the role of relevant departments and build a joint regulatory system for the national carbon emission trading market. (2) Strictly implement a responsibility system for data quality management.The Regulations clearly divide the main responsibilities and functional division of relevant parties in data quality management. From the perspective of the responsibilities of the competent authorities, the competent departments of ecology and environment shall, together with the relevant departments at the same level, be responsible for the preparation and review of emission reports, as well as the supervision of relevant illegal acts, and the relevant departments shall carry out law enforcement within the scope of their duties. From the perspective of the responsibilities of key emitting entities, it is clarified that key emitting entities shall carry out activities such as the formulation and implementation of data quality control plans, emissions-related inspection and testing, greenhouse gas emission accounting, and the preparation and submission of annual emission reports in accordance with relevant regulations and technical specifications, and be responsible for the authenticity, completeness and accuracy of their emission statistical accounting data and annual emission reports, and at the same time do a good job in data disclosure and preservation. From the perspective of the responsibilities of technical service institutions, it is specifically stipulated that technical service institutions engaged in inspection and testing shall bear corresponding responsibilities for the inspection and testing reports issued by them, and shall not issue false or false inspection and testing reports; technical service institutions engaged in the preparation of annual emission reports or technical audits shall bear corresponding responsibilities for the annual emission reports and technical audit opinions issued by them, and shall not tamper with or falsify data, and shall not use false data or carry out other fraudulent acts. In addition, the article also stipulates the conflict of interest that may arise from the provision of technical services, and requires that technical service providers shall not engage in the preparation of annual emission reports and technical audits within the same province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. (3) Strengthen punishment for violations of laws and regulations on data quality.The "Regulations" clarify the legal responsibilities for illegal acts related to data quality, such as confiscation of illegal gains, fines, reduction of quotas for the next year, orders to suspend production for rectification, cancellation of qualifications, and restrictions on employment. It includes the following acts: (1) key emitting enterprises fail to formulate and implement data quality control plans in accordance with regulations, and fail to submit, disclose and preserve relevant data and information as required; (2) key emitting enterprises fail to calculate emissions in accordance with regulations, and there are major defects or omissions in the annual emission report or falsification, and failure to make and submit samples for inspection in accordance with regulations; (3) technical service institutions issue false or false inspection and testing reports; (4) there are major defects or omissions in the annual emission reports or technical audit opinions issued by technical service institutions; Committing fraudulent acts, etc. In order to strengthen the operability of data quality supervision and law enforcement, the Regulations stipulate that the competent department of ecology and environment and other departments with corresponding functions may conduct on-site inspections of trading entities and technical service institutions such as key emitting enterprises, and the inspected persons shall truthfully reflect the situation and provide information, and shall not refuse or obstruct them. Compared with the Administrative Measures for Carbon Emission Trading (Trial), the administrative penalties have been greatly increased, which will help strengthen the constraints on violations of laws and regulations and effectively ensure the quality of carbon emission data. 3. Actively implement the new requirements for data quality management in the Regulations The promulgation of the "Regulations" provides an important basis for further strengthening the data quality management of the national carbon emission trading market. In the next step, we should actively implement the data quality management requirements of the Regulations, continuously improve the quality of carbon emission data, and provide support for the healthy operation and sustainable development of the national carbon emission trading market. (1) On the basis of legislation, improve the top-level design of data quality management in the national carbon emission trading market。In the process of implementing the Regulations, the relevant departments should actively promote relevant work closely around the requirements of data quality management, and cooperate with the establishment and improvement of the joint supervision mechanism as soon as possible. Comprehensively sort out the relevant provisions, and promptly adjust the content that is inconsistent with the "Regulations". The "Measures for the Administration of Carbon Emission Trading (Trial)", the management rules for the registration, trading and settlement of carbon emission allowances, relevant guidelines and technical standards have been systematically revised and improved, so as to effectively ensure the coordination of the legal system and management system of the national carbon emission trading market. On this basis, we will accelerate the introduction of special system documents for data quality management, and further refine the relevant requirements for data quality management in the national carbon emission trading market. (2) Standardize and innovate data quality process management, and give full play to the positive role of market mechanisms in controlling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Data quality management involves multiple entities such as key emitting enterprises, technical service institutions, and relevant departments, and is a complex system engineering, which requires not only the correct understanding and implementation of laws, regulations, and management systems, but also the familiarity and flexible use of technical specifications. Therefore, it is necessary to take the rule of law system as the foundation and the general starting point to realize the systematic, whole-process standardization and all-factor management of carbon emission data, expand the focus of supervision from terminal control to whole-process management, realize the expansion of the manual data review mode to the new mode of big data intelligent supervision, optimize and refine the data quality management workflow, continuously improve the data quality and management efficiency, and further play the role of the carbon emission trading market in controlling and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (3) Strictly implement oversight mechanisms to strengthen the legality and standardization of data quality management.On the one hand, the relevant departments shall, in accordance with the provisions of the "Regulations", strictly implement and strengthen the supervision mechanism to ensure that the data quality management is carried out in a standardized and orderly manner, and pursue the legal responsibility of the violations of the "Regulations" in accordance with the law, so that the law must be followed, the law must be strictly enforced, and the violators must be prosecuted; Relevant departments and key emitting enterprises shall, as required, disclose information such as emissions-related data, verification results, and administrative penalties, to ensure the public's right to know, participate, express and supervise。
(The author is Xu Huaqing, Director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation)
