China's Carbon Market Launches in 2017

China's long-awaited nationwide carbon market will cover as many as 10,000 firms and regulate nearly half of the country's total emissions once launched in 2017, a senior official said on the sidelines of the Paris climate talks on Tuesday.

Jiang Zhaoli, vice-head of the climate office of the state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said China's carbon market would become the world's biggest, and its targets would be higher than those set by the state "in order to guarantee it had sufficient effect".

"When the market begins in 2017 it will already have almost 10,000 firms," Jiang said. "After 2020, the size will be bigger and will involve more enterprises."

The market will cover 31 provinces, six industrial sectors and 15 sub-industries, and will involve 4 billion tonnes of annual carbon emissions at its launch, amounting to almost half of the country's total, he said.

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