22 Jul 2010 03:07:12

China to create carbon trading scheme

Reports have emerged suggesting that China is to create a domestic carbon trading scheme in a bid to reduce its carbon emissions.

China Daily cited sources from a closed door meeting of the government in which a consensus was reached that the country should create a carbon trading scheme.

"A debate is still ongoing among experts and industries regarding what approach should be adopted," the newspaper reported the source as saying.

The news comes just days after the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that, according to the organisation's calculations, China has overtaken the US to become the world's largest energy user.

China's resilience to the global recession and the increasing levels of demand in the country were said to be key reasons behind the increase.

The IEA said that the country's demand would be "even higher still if the government had not made such progress in reducing the energy intensity [the energy input per dollar of output] of its economy".

Commenting on the possibility of a carbon trading scheme, Yu Jie, an independent policy observer, was quoted by IANS as saying: "The market-based carbon-trading schemes will be a cost-effective supplement to administrative means."