China’s greenhouse gas emissions are on track to peak by 2030 or sooner, according to a survey of 260 carbon market participants conducted between March and July by China Carbon Forum, ICF International Inc., and SinoCarbon Innovation & Investment Co.
About 90% of respondents predicted 2030 as the peak year for the country’s emissions, and the majority actually cited the milestone year as 2025 or sooner, Bloomberg reports.
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“The results underscored industry confidence in China’s efforts to meet a target of capping emissions by 2030 as the nation shifts to renewable energy and curbs coal power,” the U.S-based news agency notes.
With China on the verge of launching its national carbon market, nearly half of the survey respondents said they expected the market to be fully functional by 2020, while 44% saw that happening between 2021 and 2025.
“We saw a very consistent expectation that China’s carbon market will be fully functional around 2020,” said China Carbon Forum Vice-Chair Dimitri de Boer. “This requires lots of investment in capacity-building and in getting all stakeholders aligned.”
Bloomberg notes that 38% of respondents expected carbon trading to affect their investment decisions in 2017, with the proportion rising to 75% by 2025. “95% of survey participants said country-level laws or central governmental regulations are needed to maintain compliance with carbon-trading rules,” Bloomberg notes, while “61% of stakeholders think China’s carbon market will be linked with other international systems by 2030.”
