The MEE published the “Guidance for Carbon Neutral Large-Scale Events (Trial Version)”. It aims to encourage organizers of large-scale events such as conferences, forums and exhibitions to become carbon neutral by reducing avoidable emissions and investing in Chinese offsets to balance unavoidable emissions. The guidance recommends the use of four types of offset credits: 1) allowances from China’s national ETS and regional pilot ETS; 2) Chinese Certified Emissions Reductions (CCERs); 3) Puhui credits approved by provincial or national-level authorities; 4) CER credits from CDM projects in China. It further specifically encourages the use of credits from forestry projects and projects in poorer regions of China.
Moreover, the guidance outlines specificities of emission sources, such as fossil fuel burning, electricity and heating purchase, event materials and waste management, as well as methodologies to report emissions and advice on emission reduction methods such as venue selection, accommodation, catering and transportation.
Organizers of events shall follow the guidance and quantify their total emission, provide an action plan to reduce emissions and undertake an assessment by a third-party verifier. Read more in CN