Climate Change Mitigation in China: Trends in Domestic Carbon Offsetting

Abstract

Building upon its experience with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), China has set up a new programme for offsetting greenhouse gas emissions domestically through thousands of ‘China Certified Emission Reduction’ (CCER) projects. The state-led programme represents a transition of China’s carbon market from specializing in the export of emission reductions toward serving domestic consumption. This article provides a snapshot of the ‘post-CDM’ context in China. It explores whether the CCER programme reveals a general pattern of development that is different from that of the CDM. Official project records are used to show the geographical and sectoral distribution of CCER projects. These records suggest that the western and northern areas of China will continue to play a key role in generating emission reductions. The shift toward inland may create development benefits. Sectoral distribution is a potential source of variations from the CDM. While the majority of emission reductions will be derived from renewable energy sources, a significant minority will come from waste-based ones. The market has expressed an interest in the re-use of biogas in rural areas. These observations could inform policy discussions and help forecast the potential share of key provinces and sectors in the new carbon market.