Steel and other key emitting industries to be included in national carbon market

On 7 September, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Global Energy Transition

 Conference that in accelerating the promotion of green and low-carbon development, it will actively cultivate the development of green

productivity, actively respond to climate change and actively participate in global climate governance. He said the carbon market will be

further strengthened, the coverage of industries will be steadily expanded, trading varieties and trading methods will be enriched, and the 

national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market will be improved. By the end of this year, the national carbon emissions 

trading market will include key emitting industries such as iron and steel, cement and aluminium smelting, in addition to the existing power industry.

Huang Runqiu introduced that from 2013 to 2023, China's average annual energy consumption growth rate of 3.2% supported an average annual 

economic growth rate of 6%, the energy intensity of a cumulative decline of 26.1%, and the proportion of coal consumption in primary energy

 consumption fell from 67.4% to 55.3%.

Huang Runqiu said that the next step will give full play to the leading, optimising and forcing role of ecological environmental protection, 

and focus on accelerating the promotion of green and low-carbon development from three aspects.

First, we are actively fostering the development of green productivity. The ecological and environmental management system, which is sub-regional, 

differentiated and accurately controlled, will be implemented in depth. It will accelerate the optimisation and adjustment of industrial, energy and 

fransport structures, and comprehensively carry out multifaceted and multilevel collaborative innovations to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

 It will improve economic policies on green and low-carbon development, promote the research and development and popularisation and application

of green and low-carbon technologies, and promote the sustained and healthy development of the environmental protection industry.

Secondly, we will actively respond to climate change. We will implement the ‘1+N’ policy system of carbon peaking and carbon neutralisation, 

and promote the gradual shift from dual control of energy consumption to dual control of carbon emissions. We will further strengthen the construction 

of the carbon market, steadily expand the coverage of industries, enrich trading varieties and methods, and improve the national voluntary greenhouse

 gas emission reduction trading market. By the end of this year, the national carbon emissions trading market will include key emission industries such 

as iron and steel, cement and aluminium smelting, in addition to the existing power industry. It will further improve the carbon pricing mechanism and

 accelerate the establishment of a carbon footprint management system.

Thirdly, we will actively participate in global climate governance. We will constructively participate in the multilateral process on climate change and 

actively promote international cooperation on climate change.