On the occasion of the third anniversary of the operation of the national carbon market, the "National Carbon Market Development Report (2024)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") was released at the 2024 China Carbon Market Conference. The report shows that the carbon emission intensity of electricity in 2023 will decrease by 8.78% compared to 2018, and the effect of promoting industry emission reduction in the national carbon market is gradually emerging. The main role of the carbon market in carbon pricing is further strengthened. The national carbon market is a key institutional arrangement for controlling greenhouse gas emissions through market mechanisms. China's carbon market consists of a nationally unified mandatory carbon emission trading market and a voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market. In July 2021, taking the power industry as a breakthrough point, the national carbon emission trading market launched online trading. Compared to mandatory production and emission restrictions, the carbon emission trading mechanism allocates carbon emission resources through market means, making enterprise emission reduction more flexible and conducive to promoting industry emission reduction, "said Zhao Yingmin, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. He introduced a set of numbers: under the premise of ensuring the rapid development of the power industry and energy security, the carbon emission intensity of thermal power plants in China will decrease by 2.38% compared to 2018 in 2023, and the carbon emission intensity of electricity will decrease by 8.78% compared to 2018. "The guiding role of promoting greenhouse gas emissions reduction through the carbon market, promoting energy structure adjustment, and incentivizing advanced and restraining backward is more obvious. It is reported that the national carbon emission trading market has successfully completed two implementation cycles, with a total of 2257 key emission units included in the second implementation cycle. The annual coverage of carbon dioxide emissions is about 5.1 billion tons, accounting for more than 40% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, making it the largest carbon market in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The report shows that currently, key emission units in the power generation industry have established internal control systems for carbon emission management, with over 80% of them equipped with dedicated personnel responsible for carbon asset management, and incorporating carbon asset management into daily production and operation activities. The vast majority of key emission units have evaluated their own emission reduction potential and costs, actively adopted low-carbon technology transformation, production process optimization and other emission reduction measures, and conducted internal carbon emission reduction assessments. The activity of the carbon market has significantly increased, with the number of companies participating in trading in the second fulfillment cycle increasing by 32% compared to the first fulfillment cycle. According to the data from the National Carbon Market Information Network, as of July 17th, the cumulative trading volume of carbon quotas in the national carbon market reached 466 million tons, with a cumulative trading volume of 27.026 billion yuan. On January 25th of this year, the State Council issued the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Carbon Emission Trading", which is the first special regulation in China's response to climate change. It clarifies the main links and legal responsibilities of carbon emission trading and related activities in the market. With the promulgation and implementation of the regulation and the continuous progress of related work in the third performance cycle, carbon trading prices are also steadily rising. On April 24th, the carbon price briefly exceeded 100 yuan per ton and is currently fluctuating around 90 yuan per ton. The report believes that the green finance attribute of carbon emission rights has gradually gained market recognition, and the national carbon market trading price has anchored the benchmark price for climate investment and financing, carbon asset management, quota pledge, etc., which has leveraged more green and low-carbon investments, promoted industry energy efficiency improvement, energy structure adjustment, and demonstrated a positive role in promoting green, low-carbon, and high-quality development. Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu stated at the meeting today that the industry coverage will be steadily expanded, and key emission industries such as steel, cement, and aluminum smelting will be included in the national carbon emission trading market as soon as possible. Data quality management will be continuously strengthened, and quota paid allocation will be gradually implemented. The trading subjects, trading varieties, and trading methods will be continuously enriched, and feasible paths for carbon finance activities will be studied and explored. The carbon market will fully play its role in promoting low-cost greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and help achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. This report is the latest update on the progress of the national carbon market after the release of the "First Performance Cycle Report of the National Carbon Emission Trading Market" in December 2022. Zhao Yingmin stated that in the future, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will continue to release annual reports on the national carbon market. (New Society)