Clean Development Mechanism In China Research Articles

Review of recent progress of emission trading policy in China

Global warming caused by the excessive combustion of fossil fuels has become the focus of the international community. China's carbon emission reduction policy plays a vital role in international climate change, carbon emission neutrality and domestic environmental pollution control. This paper summarises the progress of China's Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) pilots from 2011 to 2021, including trading volume, carbon emissions price, and the effect of carbon emission abatement. By calculating the carbon emissions intensity decrease rate of China's ETS pilot and non-pilot regions, the ETS and carbon emissions tax are compared in terms of emission reduction effectiveness, emission reduction cost and implementation resistance to provide theoretical support for the Chinese government to select and develop carbon emission reduction tools. The development of the Clean Development Mechanism in China is also compared with China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER), and the offsetting rules of CCER are summarised. After the whole analysis and assessment, the results show that from 2013 to 2018, the average carbon emissions intensity decline rate in the ETS pilots was 7.3% and that in non-pilots was 4.29%. Some problems of China's carbon emissions trading market are also concluded. The trading volume is small (only 43.4 × 106 t in 2020) and is discrepant greatly in the different ETS pilots. The carbon emissions price is low (only 33.45 Yuan/t in 2020), with high volatility and large price differences among the ETS pilots. Based on the existing problems, this paper proposes some suggestions for improving China's emission trading market and provides theoretical and decision-making support for promoting carbon emission reduction and neutralisation for China.

Conflicts in multi-level governance: an analysis of international climate policy implementation at the sub-national level

The complexity and multi-level nature of climate change requires governance systems able to manage and resolve conflicts across multiple scales. Drawing on the theories of collaborative governance and conflict resolution, this paper proposes a theoretical framework to understand three types of conflicts likely to occur in a multi-level governance (MLG) network: conflict in problem framing, conflict in benefit sharing, and conflict in capacity building. Using the implementation of the clean development mechanism in China as a case study, the paper finds the three types of conflicts emerged between supranational and subnational levels. The finding further indicates the role that the Chinese national government played in resolving conflicts through reinterpreting international norms, aligning presumably conflicting goals, eliminating the difference in benefits sharing, and narrowing capacity gaps across levels. The evidence suggests an improved MLG should be dedicated to integrating local level interests in centrally dominated policy processes. This study contributes new knowledge on MLG by investigating the hierarchical relations among participants and how authority and power differentials can shape their interactions across levels.

The impact of clean development mechanism on energy-water-carbon nexus optimization in Hebei, China: A hierarchical model based discussion

Clean development mechanism (CDM) is an important principle in CO2 emissions mitigation since it was proposed. However, there will be a long way for the large-scale application of CDM in China, for thermal power is still in the dominant position, while renewable power is far from being competitive. In this study, a mix integer bi-level hierarchical programming model (MIBLHP) is developed to investigate the potential impact of the CDM application on the regional energy-water-carbon nexus optimization in electric power system in China. The model integrates the advantages of bi-level programming and mix integer liner programming in dealing with conflicting objectives with hierarchical and sequential decision making process and help to achieve the optimized strategies with the highest overall system satisfaction degree. Results show that CDM will play an important role in the regional energy-water-carbon nexus optimization, the MIBLHP is able to stabilize the increasing trend of system cost and make better tradeoffs between the economic and environmental goals. Optimal strategies including power generation and capacity expansion path, system cost control, CO2 emissions abatement strategies, water consumption and waste water discharge are presented. The system would reach the supreme satisfaction degrees (λ = 0.934) when the CO2 reduction level is 40%, which means that every part of the system has achieved the best condition. The proposed model has great potential in dealing with similar regional planning problems in energy-water-carbon nexus optimization.

Shareholder value effects of corporate carbon trading: Empirical evidence from market reaction towards Clean Development Mechanism in China

Are shareholders sensitive to corporate initiative of implementing Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects? And if so, what are the key factors that influence the corresponding abnormal return to enterprises? To answer these questions, we employed an event study methodology to evaluate the stock market reaction to the CDM projects certification in China since 2005. We illuminated three sources of ambiguity in the relationship between corporate CDM initiatives and shareholder value, namely the impacts from time, CDM types, and credits of carbon emission reduction (CER). Our empirical results showed that the CDM initiatives could benefit corporate shareholder values. The expected CER credit is the main driver for the increase in shareholder value. However, we also found that the positive shareholder value effect of CDM decreases over time. In particular, industrial gas CDM projects rather than renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are preferred by shareholders; but there are no significant differences in the shareholder value effect between bilateral contracting and unilateral implementation. This paper advanced knowledge on the shareholder value effect of corporate CDM initiatives, and more generally, the impact of corporate carbon trading on financial performance of enterprises in an emerging country context.

Inter-provincial clean development mechanism in China: A case study of the solar PV sector

With ever growing urgency, climate change mitigation is fast becoming a priority for China. A successful policy of implementing and expanding sustainable development and the use of renewable energy is therefore vital. As well as long-term and near-term targets for installed capacity of renewable energy, in its 12th five-year plan, China has created strict and ambitious carbon intensity targets for each province. This study proposes an inter-provincial clean development mechanism to assist in meeting these targets. This mechanism will create potential co-benefits of assisting in sustainable development in lesser developed provinces, increasing local air quality and supporting the growth of China's renewable energy sector. This paper also highlights the potential that this inter-provincial clean development mechanism has in accelerating the growth of the domestic solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, for which the market in China is still in its infancy.

Clean development mechanism in China: Regional distribution and prospects

Late in 2012, when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol came to an end, it was further extended to December 2020. This was based on the strong realisation that the clean development mechanism (CDM) projects have been playing an important role globally, particularly in promoting clean development in China. Based on a review of international and domestic sources, the paper analyses the progress in the development of CDM projects both globally and in China.China has attracted the lion share of CDM investment in terms of projects located in this country and the global annual certified emission reductions under this mechanism. Due to the relative easiness of implementation, the main area of investment is new and renewable energy. China's fast economic development, open door investment policy, political stability, high educational and technological standards and reliable infrastructure are all encouraging the interest of foreign investors seeking to reduce their domestic carbon footprint. In order to facilitate the location of CDM projects, the Chinese government formulated a series of policies and regulations as well as established national coordinating groups for climate change, CDM Designated National Authorities and projects auditing boards, which are responsible for projects application, auditing and management.There are however large differences in the regional distribution of Chinese CDM projects. Provinces, such as Yunnan, Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Hunan and Gansu (located in central and western China) are attracting more projects because of their rich hydro and wind resources while there are very few projects in the eastern already developed parts of the country. This trend is consistent with the CDM's main goal to assist less developed regions to achieve a more sustainable development.

The Potential of Renewable Energy for the Alleviation of Climate Change in China

With the introduction of clean development mechanism (CDM), people focus on finding the possibility of using CDM in many sectors recently. This paper presents a brief potential capacity of renewable energy for CDM in China. It analyses the current situation in renewable energy and concludes that there are a variety of possible potential, mainly in the areas of wind power, small hydropower, solar photovoltaic, biomass energy and coal-bed methane. From these different aspects, this paper discusses the potential for alleviation of climate change in corresponding areas separately. It also underlines the role of the CDM in reducing CO2 emission, which is good for the environment in global climate change.

Carbon emission right as a new property right: rescue CDM developers in China from 2012

Clean development mechanism (CDM) is encountering many uncertainties due to the coming end of the commitment period and critically suggested reformation. As the largest participant in the CDM market, China shoulders the biggest proportion of market risk. Among the studies on CDM in China, few have focused upon the legal aspect of CDM, which is crucial in defending developers' interests. To fill this research gap in making the transition from policy to law, this paper claims that carbon emission right, which is the basis of trade, should be attributed as a property right in Property Law of People's Republic of China. The present study will discuss the characteristics of carbon emission, definition, and legal attribution of carbon emission right. The valid object of carbon emission right in the CDM market under Property Law should be certified emis- sions reductions (CERs). The usufructuary right could be specifically applied in practice to the owners' property right on CERs in China. Although experience from the CDM is not fully applicable to the development of cap and trading, the success of CDM market provides a reasonable platform to study emission right in the view of legal science. Furthermore, the proposed research acts as the pioneer study that lay the theoretical foundations in legal science on emission right trading for other potential schemes, which in turn addresses international environmental issues.

The Development of Projects under the Clean Development Mechanism in China

Since 2005 when Carbon Fund was formally introduced to China, the development of projects under the clean development mechanism(CDM) has experienced enormous growth,contributing to the sustainable development of industry.While there are at least two general barriers to get a balanced development of CDM projects in China—namely the limitation of implementation of CDM projects both in sector and scale spheres and problems faced by enterprises in development of CDM project —for assessment of the applicability of project methodology，this article compares the national Chinese registered projects and corresponding methodologies in the world.In the end,My analysis argues the underlying reasons and proposes several schemes to solve the problems.

The Clean Development Mechanism in China: Institutional Perspectives on Governance

ABSTRACTThe Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has grown into a central feature of the global carbon market. Besides a range of normative and evaluative research into the CDM, scholars have applied international relations perspectives in which the CDM has been analysed as an example of global governance, engaging multiple actors across administrative levels. This paper focuses on a national government and how its activities affect the CDM market. We draw on an empirical case study of China to demonstrate how governmental action can be understood in light of national institutional factors, defined as normative, cognitive or regulative elements. The paper describes and explains the extensiveness of Chinese government action regarding the CDM and discusses its consequences for the market. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

The Drivers and Outcomes of the Clean Development Mechanism in China

ABSTRACTThe Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a flexible market mechanism intended to reduce greenhouse emissions and promote sustainable development. China hosts a third of all registered CDM projects, and generates two‐thirds of all certified emissions reductions. Understanding the political economy of the CDM in China is therefore of critical importance in determining whether the CDM is an effective instrument to promote sustainable development and mitigate climate change. This paper discusses the nature and dynamics of CDM project development in China by analysing the 579 registered CDM projects operating in China as of 1 July 2009. The predominant activities are hydroelectric and wind power projects, with foreign involvement largely by European firms specializing in emerging carbon markets. The sustainability outcomes of projects in China are primarily economic, with environmental benefits largely restricted to cleaner production. The results suggest that the CDM is largely being employed as an ancillary device to attract foreign investment and further China's existing development agenda. We argue that the these results indicate the need for further reform of the CDM to achieve desired outcomes, and that China's approach to the design of integrated policy portfolios might be an example of how to achieve this. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Legal Issues for Implementing the Clean Development Mechanism in China

Legal Issues for Implementing the Clean Development Mechanism in China

Quantifying the Air Quality Cobenefits of the Clean Development Mechanism in China

The Clean Development Mechanism's (CDM) contribution to sustainable development in host countries has come under criticism in recent years. Yet, there are no detailed country-wide estimates of air quality cobenefits from CDM projects. In this paper, we estimate the SO(2), PM(2.5), and NO(x) cobenefit rates (tonnes per kt CO(2)eq reduced) of 11 CDM project types for seven regions in China, using detailed activity data from Project Design Documents and emissions factors calculated from the GAINS-Asia model database. We forecast the CO(2)eq reductions by CDM projects to 2012 and their associated contributions to air pollution reductions, and avoided health and agricultural impacts. We expect CDM projects to yield notable SO(2) reductions in the coming years (1094 kt in 2010), with more modest reductions of PM(2.5) and NO(x) (79 and 270 kt in 2010, respectively). This suggests that the CDM could be making a nontrivial contribution to China's SO(2) reductions under the 11th Five-Year Plan. The monetized health and agricultural benefits from reduced PM and NO(x) amount to roughly 12 billion RMB per year in 2010, roughly one-third of the market value of the associated Certified Emission Reductions.

The clean development mechanism in China and India: A comparative institutional analysis

AbstractThe clean development mechanism (CDM) is a project‐based instrument that allows developed countries to receive credits toward meeting their obligatory targets under the Kyoto Protocol by investing in emission reduction projects in developing countries. This article provides a comparative institutional analysis of the CDM in China and India. It focuses on each country's ‘designated national authority’ (DNA), which is the national agency to approve CDM projects. Three dimensions of the DNAs are considered: their structures, their policies and the CDM project market. Although the DNAs in both China and India have their strengths and weaknesses, China's approach in particular has some positive lessons for other DNAs. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

CDM potential in the power-generation and energy-intensive industries of China

China is one of the most promising countries for CDM (clean development mechanism) projects. Whilst this is true in terms of physical potential, of greater significance is the economic potential of CDM projects. In this article, I develop methodologies for estimating both the physical and economic potential of CDM activities in China and apply them to power generation and other energy-intensive sectors. This study adopts a thorough application of a bottom-up approach based on actual data collected from Tsinghua University and several power plants in China, and data from feasibility studies of Japanese companies sponsored by NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, Japan). The article also provides useful tools for estimating CDM economic potentials by sectors/technologies, which are applicable not only at the current CER (certified emission reduction) price, but also for any other possible CER prices. Section 2 illustrates a methodology for exploring physical reduction potentials and applies this methodology to different energy-intensive sectors. The results show a physical (annual) reduction potential of 127 Mt-CO 2 in total. Section 3 presents a methodology for calculating the CO 2 abatement cost. Section 4 calculates transaction cost, yielding an estimate of approximately $350,000 per project. Section 5 examines the economic potential of CDM projects in China, taking into account current CER market price. The economic (annual) reduction potentials obtained are 15 Mt-CO 2 (far smaller than the physical potential). Section 6 explores other promising areas for CDM. The economic potential of CDM in China is shown to increase when CDM activities in ‘greenfield’ and landfill gas recovery are taken into account. Finally, I present various policy recommendations.

Implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism in China: Sustainable Development, Benefit Sharing, and Ownership of Certified Emissions Reductions

Implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism in China: Sustainable Development, Benefit Sharing, and Ownership of Certified Emissions Reductions