Climate Cooperation China
On behalf of the International Climate Initiative (IKI)

Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) Released Administrative Measure for National ETS (Trial)

On January 05, 2021, the MEE released the interim administrative measure for the national ETS of China, which came into force on February 01, 2021.

According to the trial measure, the MEE is responsible for constructing the national ETS including defining the coverage of greenhouse gases (GHG) and scopes, building registration and trading systems, formalizing technical guidelines, and supervising the trading actives jointly with other authorities. It clarifies that enterprises covered by the national ETS will not participate in any regional pilot ETS anymore. At the beginning allowances  will mainly be allocated for free, with auctioning being gradually introduced in the future. Allowances are initially the only trading product but other products might be introduced later. Enterprises shall submit a GHG emission report each year before March 31. The CCER used for annual payment shall not exceed 5% of the actual annual emissions, and must be derived from renewable energy, methane utilization and carbon sink voluntary emission reduction projects within China. Finally, the supervision responsibilities within the Ecology and Environment authority system and penalties for non-compliance are also defined.

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More policy news

China issues National Climate Plan for 2026–2030

On 27 July 2026, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and 18 other national authorities jointly issued the “National Climate Change Plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan Period”. The plan covers the period 2026–2030 and addresses mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, product carbon footprints and climate governance.

The plan builds on the objectives of the general 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for National Economic and Social Development, adopted in March 2026, and of the State Council’s “Action Plan for Carbon Peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period”, issued earlier this month. While the “Action Plan for Carbon Peaking” focuses mainly on energy and sectoral carbon dioxide (CO2) reductions, the new national climate plan also addresses non-CO2 gases, climate risk and the data systems needed to implement climate policy.

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China sets out how it intends to peak carbon emissions before 2030

On 9 July 2026, the State Council published the “Action Plan for Carbon Peaking during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period (2026–2030)”. The plan translates the climate objectives of the 15th Five-Year Plan, adopted in March 2026, into sector-level measures for energy, industry, transport, buildings and carbon markets. It is the central instrument through which China intends to reach its target of peaking carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions before 2030, and prepare the ground for carbon neutrality before 2060.

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