Chinese provinces to pilot carbon emission assessments

The Chinese ecology and environment ministry (MEE) is spearheading a pilot programme across seven provinces aimed at assessing the carbon emission impact of projects affecting industries such as power, steel, construction, non-ferrous metals, oil and petrochemicals.

The pilot provinces of Hebei, Jilin, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Shandong and Chongqing need to come up with a methodology to assess the carbon emissions of such projects by the end of the year, and local governments have been asked to extend the assessment to other industrial sectors based on their respective climate action plans. Provinces that face higher pollution problems may also include assessments for methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbon, sulphur hexafluoride, nitrogen trifluoride and other greenhouse gases, the MEE said.

Beijing is aiming for its emissions to peak by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. It launched its national emission trading scheme this month as part of efforts to achieve these targets.

Local governments have been criticised for blindly approving energy-intensive and high-pollution projects in recent years.

The government handed out 4.3bn yuan ($662mn) worth of fines in the first half of this year for environmental violations, with each fine averaging Yn78,400.