Potential risks of double-counting carbon emission reductions in environmental rights trading and countermeasures

doi:10.12006/j.issn.1673-1719.2023.175

Abstract

Abstract:

Environmental rights trading can help achieve carbon emission reduction targets at a lower cost and play an important role in achieving China’s carbon peaking and neutrality goals. Currently, various environmental rights trading mechanisms related to carbon emission reductions are operating in China. The cross-overlapping of these mechanisms and their imperfect accounting rule design may lead to a significant risk of double-counting of carbon mitigation benefits, where the same emission reduction benefit is used to achieve two or more mitigation targets, thereby affecting environmental integrity. This article has systematically reviewed the environmental rights trading mechanisms related to carbon mitigation in China and analyzed in detail the sources and mechanisms of the double-counting risk in environmental rights trading. It is suggested that in order to avoid the risk of double-counting of carbon emission reduction benefits, efforts should be made to strengthen top-level design and coordination between different mechanisms, including the establishment of a unified management platform, the enhancement of information sharing, the improvement of carbon emission statistics and accounting system, the clarification of the positioning and boundaries of various mechanisms, and the avoidance of the cross-overlapping of different mechanisms.

Key words: Environmental rights trading, Carbon emission reductions, Double counting, Carbon accounting

MA Guo-Song, DUAN Mao-Sheng. Potential risks of double-counting carbon emission reductions in environmental rights trading and countermeasures[J]. Climate Change Research, 2024, 20(1): 85-96.

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1 Environmental rights trading mechanisms related to carbon emission reductions in China

Fig. 1 Double counting of emission reductions under carbon credit mechanisms

Table 2 Comparison of information disclosure of different carbon credit mechanisms

Table 3 Comparison of China’s and foreign renewable energy certificates

Fig. 2 Double counting due to the overlapping of ETS and carbon credit mechanisms

Fig. 3 Double counting due to the overlapping of energy-consumption permit trading and ETS

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