Chinese networking meeting on implementing the Paris Agreement

April 2017 - Under the Paris Agreement, all participating countries agreed to implement nationally determined contributions (NDCs) containing country-specific emission reduction targets. With the Paris Agreement now ratified, the 144 Parties to the Agreement must work to implement their NDCs. Against this backdrop, the AHK Greater Beijing on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) organised a networking meeting on 27 April. The purpose of the meeting was to enable industry representatives and experts to discuss the role of market-based mechanisms in meeting the targets contained in the Chinese NDC.

The event began with a presentation by Dr. Gu Alun, a lecturer at the Tsinghua University Institute of Energy, Environment and Economy, on the Chinese NDC targets and the role played by market mechanisms in meeting them. Dr. Gu Alun estimates that the national emissions trading scheme (ETS) to be introduced in China this year will cover some 50 percent of carbon emissions. In addition to the ETS, Dr. Gu Alun also talked about other market mechanisms such as emission standards, the eco tax which will go into effect on 1 January 2018 and the possibility of a carbon tax also being introduced.

In a second presentation, Song Su, a research associate with the World Resources Institute (WRI) sustainable transport programme, set out the specifics of China’s NDC targets for the transport sector. Transport was responsible for between 10 and 12 percent of carbon emissions in China in 2014. Song Su presented selected WRI projects designed both to reduce emissions in the transport sector and aid implementation of China’s NDC. In one such project, the WRI is working with the responsible Chinese authorities and ministries to develop a parking and congestion charge.

Further Information

The April issue of the Econet Monitor magazine, which is published by the environment experts at AHK Greater China in Beijing, contains an in-depth article on the networking meeting. The article is available for download here.

Note: The publication is available only in German.