Brussels, 30/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The EU is to invest €10 million in a new EU-China cooperation project linking the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the equivalent Chinese scheme which will begin in 2017.
European Climate Action and Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete made the announcement in China on 29 June (see EUROPE 11582).
A national carbon market will be officially launched by China in 2017. Through the new cooperation project, scheduled to last three years, the EU will help China address the challenges involved in setting up this instrument and will establish a regular dialogue to discuss developments on emissions trading in China and the EU.
“China is sending an important signal as we embark on our journey to implement the new global climate change agreement. The world's second largest economy will be using emissions trading to reach its Paris pledge. With more than a decade of experience with the EU emissions trading system, the EU is well placed to support China”, said Cañete, indicating this cooperation will be between the two largest emissions trading systems in the world.
EU-China cooperation in this area began in 2014, with an initial three-year project, and has supported the roll-out of seven regional pilot schemes across the country. At their bilateral summit on 29 June 2015, the EU and China agreed to “further enhance their exciting bilateral cooperation on carbon markets”. The Paris climate agreement allows parties to use international carbon credits. The proposal on the reform of the ETS for the fourth trading period (2021-2030), brought forward by the European Commission in July 2015 to address the shortcomings of the European carbon market (see EUROPE 11576), is currently under scrutiny. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)