Isramart : China considers first carbon trading scheme

Isramart news:
China may start its first carbon cap-and-trade system for energy use in buildings in Tianjin by June, Bloomberg reports.

The northeast port city of Tianjin plans to impose a mandatory limit on energy used to heat buildings, John Shi, chief executive officer of the carbon credit trader Arreon Carbon U.K. Ltd., said in an interview with Bloomberg. Property managers able to reduce energy use to below the limit will earn credits they can then sell, he said.

The Tianjin program, China’s first market-based carbon trading scheme, was established by Arreon and the Tianjin Climate Exchange. The exchange is a venture between a unit of China National Petroleum Corp., the country’s largest oil and gas company, the Tianjin Property Rights Exchange and the Chicago Climate Exchange, according to its Web site.

“On the one hand, Tianjin needs to develop very quickly,” said Mu Lingling, deputy general manager of the Tianjin Climate Exchange. “On the other hand, it has to provide environmental protection.” The emissions trading program can help the nation achieve both targets, Mu said.

Beijing and Shanghai are also working on carbon trading programs and are in a “horse race” with Tianjin to develop emissions trading systems for the nation, Shi said.

Arreon has been approached by local governments from the provinces of Inner Mongolia and Jiangsu and the cities of Dalian and Foshan for help in raising energy efficiency and reducing emissions, Shi said.