China Will Launch National Cap-And-Trade Scheme In 2017 Making Them The World’s Biggest Carbon Market
The White House announced on Thursday that China will launch a national cap-and-trade plan in 2017, which will make the country the biggest carbon market in the world.
The news was disclosed at the Washington summit, which was headed by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in effort to put a price on carbon with China being the biggest carbon polluter in the world, noted The Guardian on Friday.
In order to help poor countries battle climate change, the U.S. has already committed $13 billion to the Green Climate Fund, with China declaring a "very substantial commitment" for the cause as well on Friday along with the White House's official announcement of the cap-and-trade plan.
Wired reported on Friday that the main goal of the scheme is to put in restraint the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels that cause global warming.
"To date, there has been no official policy paper that confirms [the program]," said Li Shuo, who keeps track of international climate negotiations for Greenpeace. "The fact this will be officially announced from the president's level during the world's most important bilateral meeting is significant."
To date, China already has seven regional carbon markets, with a broad variation in terms of pricing.
The White House noted that the national cap-and-trade plan encompasses China's largest carbon pollution contributors, including iron and steel, chemicals, power generation, building materials, nonferrous metals and paper-making.
"One of the arguments that has been proffered against the United States stepping up and providing more resources to help poor countries develop in low-carbon ways has been that if the United States steps up with resources, then other countries won't," pointed White House officials in a conference call with reporters, "- the sort of argument that if the US leads, then others will just take a backseat."
Other ways to fight global warming are being explored by both the U.S. and China. Last year in November, the U.S. vowed to reduce 28 percent of its emissions by up to 28 percent by 2025, while China pledged to acquire one-fifth of its power from non-fossil-fuel sources.
