On March 29 and 30, 2021, the MEE released the “Verification Guideline for GHG Emission (trial)” as well as the “Monitoring and Reporting Guideline of GHG Emissions for Power Generation Sector” respectively. Compared to the previous draft, the final Verification Guideline tightens the criteria for companies that might be exempted from on-site investigations; this should lead to a high percentage of companies being verified through both processes, document check and on-site investigation. Besides, there are additional provisions to avoid conflicts of interest for third parties as well as verifiers.
Within the “Notice of Annual GHG Emission Reporting and Verification 2020”, the MEE also issued the final version of the “Monitoring and Reporting Guideline for the Power Generation Sector”. The final version requires a higher data quality compared to previous drafts. The frequency of emission data reporting has also been refined to a monthly request on activity data, emission factors, production-related information and necessary supporting documents. Enterprises also need to report relevant information to the public when submitting annual GHG reports to the relevant authorities.
The first compliance cycle of China’s national ETS for the power generation sector ends before December 31. The deadline for reporting GHG emissions is April 30 for power generation enterprises and September 30 for enterprises from other sectors (petroleum, petro-chemical, construction materials, iron and steel, non-ferrous, paper, and aviation). Verification needs to be completed before June 30 for power generation enterprises and before December 31 for enterprises from the other seven sectors. Based on emission data for 2019 and 2020, the allocation of allowances for enterprises in the power sector will be finalized before September 30.
