Clifford Chance

Carbon Trading in China: Relaunch of the Certified Emission Reduction Scheme

15 April 2024

On 22 January 2024, China officially relaunched the China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) scheme, which is a milestone step in establishing the voluntary carbon market in China (the National CCER Scheme). The framework of the voluntary standard applicable under this scheme is similar to other internationally recognised voluntary standards (such as Verra and Gold Standard), whilst the implementation details are subject to PRC specific regulatory requirements.

This development is critical as it also impacts China's national Emissions Trading System (ETS) (the National ETS Market), which is the mandatory carbon market in China. This is because the "key emitters" under the National ETS Market, are allowed to surrender (a) their acquired CCERs together with (b) their allocated or acquired certified emission allowance for their actual carbon emissions under the National ETS Market, so the launch of the National CCER Scheme will provide key emitters with additional methods to offset their carbon emissions.

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