Letter to the Editor pubs.acs.org/est
China’s Carbon Trading Scheme is a Priority §
T
he good news is that the United States, Europe, and Japan have turned the corner on carbon emissions.1 However, China, the leading global carbon emitter, has fallen behind in its low-carbon image. Its steadily increasing coal consumption made China account for one-quarter of all global CO2 emissions.2 China’s coal and oil consumption are projected to increase by 23% and 46% respectively by 2020.3 However, carbon capture and storage (CCS)the process by which emissions from the use of coal are isolatedis still lacking in market-operating funds and political support with climate ambitions to accelerate commercial deployment.4 To decrease its reliance on coal, China has set ambitious targets for its ongoing nuclear5 and shale-gas plans,6,7 posing significant safety concerns and environmental and economic challenges. Good governance combined with climate responsibility, ability, and ambition is essential for carbon mitigation. China would benefit by improving energy efficiency and carbon productivity in addition to adopting various policy measures (e.g., carbon tax and carbon trading). In light of China’s regulatory system and market economy, we recommend prioritizing the development of a national carbon trading scheme. China strictly enforces a “cap-and-trade” scheme conducted by the National Development and Innovation Committee (NDRC). Several of China’s local low-carbon pilot programs have resulted in improved energy efficiency and carbon-sink capacity.8 Currently, five metropolitan areas (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, and Shenzhen) and two provinces (Guangdong and Hubei) have all implemented regional carbon trading schemes. There were 579 key energyusing companies in Beijing in 2013, 12 less than in 2012, accounting for almost 40% of the energy consumption in the city. Enforceable limits on total emissions for enterprises participating in Shanghai’s pilot program, including for the energy-intensive steel, transport, and power sectors, were formulated, and these will be implemented during 2013−2015. The Guangdong carbon market alone is projected to regulate 277 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2015.9 We believe that China has the potential to be a leader in carbon trading if it can build credible carbon pricing and efficient data gathering systems through direct regulation. China should make significant progress in curbing carbon emissions in a post-Kyoto world and participate actively in the global climate negotiations in preparation for the new global climate treaty in 2015 in Paris.
■
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 P.R. China
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*Tel.: +86 020 87685006. Fax: +86 020 87685006. E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
Environmental Science & Technology edits all Letters for length, punctuation, and clarification of references. Authors approve of changes prior to publication. The authors declare no competing financial interest.
■ ■
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The current work is supported by the Foundation of Director of Guangzhou Institute of Geography (030). REFERENCES
(1) Schnoor, J. L. Responding to Climate Change with a Carbon Tax. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014, 48 (21), 12475−12476. (2) Liu, Z.; Guan, D.; Crawford-Brown, D.; Zhang, Q.; He, K.; Liu, J. A Low-Carbon Road Map for China. Nature 2013, 500 (7461), 143− 145. (3) Diringer, E. A Patchwork of Emissions Cuts. Nature 2013, 501 (7467), 307−309. (4) Tollefson, J.; Van Noorden, R. Slow Progress to Cleaner Coal. Nature 2012, 484 (7393), 151−152. (5) Yang, X. J.; Zhang, D.; Xu, M.; Li, J. China’s Nuclear Power Goals Surge Ahead. Science 2013, 340 (6129), 142. (6) Wang, C.; Wang, F.; Li, L.; Zhang, X. Wake-up Call for China to Re-Evaluate Its Shale-Gas Ambition. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47 (21), 11920−11921. (7) Wang, C.; Wang, F.; Du, H.; Zhang, X. Is China Really Ready for Shale Gas RevolutionRe-evaluating Shale Gas Challenges. Environ. Sci. Policy 2014, 39 (0), 49−55. (8) Zhu, X. Learn from China’s local pilot schemes. Nature 2013, 502 (7469), 38−38. (9) Wang, Q. China has the capacity to lead in carbon trading. Nature 2013, 493 (7432), 273−273.
Changjian Wang*,† Fei Wang‡,§ Hongou Zhang† Yuyao Ye† Qitao Wu† †
Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangzhou, 510070 P.R. China ‡ Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, 830011 P.R. China © 2014 American Chemical Society
Published: November 20, 2014 13559
dx.doi.org/10.1021/es505198t | Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014, 48, 13559−13559
