China to set up Asia's first carbon-credit exchange

BEIJING: China, set to overtake the US as the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter, will soon set up Asia's first carbon-credit exchange in Beijing, allowing the country a head-start in the multi-billion-dollar global carbon market.

The exchange and 12 brokerages in western China, estimated to cost $1.7 million over three years, will be established with financial backing from Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steelmaker, which is scouting for major forays into China. The project aims to establish the clean development mechanism (CDM) technical service centres in 12 provinces, like Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia.

These centres will act as brokers between international investors and local partners to kick-start Green Investment in China's less developed regions.

The initiative aims to pilot carbon trading in China, build capacity and provide policy input for the expansion of carbon market and reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in China, UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) resident representative Inichina, Khalid Malik said.

Read More