China plans to relaunch its carbon credits programme

China is one step away from relaunching its voluntary carbon credits program after updating key rules for the scheme, which it shelved more than six years ago due to a lack of uptake and regulatory issues.

Revised measures for the China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER) scheme were released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) on Oct. 19.

A wind farm generates power for grids in China.

The draft New Measure aims to enhance the environmental integrity of China’s carbon market by introducing new requirements for project registration and credit issuance.

Together with the national emission trading scheme (the China ETS) launched two years ago, the CCER Scheme represents China’s continuous efforts towards adopting market-based mechanisms for achieving its climate pledges.

Monetising carbon and participating in carbon credit trading in carbon markets are critical elements of the global shift towards achieving net-zero emissions.