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China May Have Carbon Trading in Place by 2013, Sandor Says
2010-11-04 04:25:18.370 GMT
By John Duce
Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's biggest energy
consuming nation, may have a carbon trading system in place as
soon as 2013, said Richard Sandor, one of the pioneers of the
carbon credit market.
A cap-and-trade market in China may be in place by 2020 and
could be functioning by 2013 to 2015, Sandor said at a climate
change forum in Hong Kong today. He helped found London-based
Climate Change Plc in 2003, agreeing to sell his stake in the
company in April to Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
"Irony of ironies, there's a better understanding of cap
and trade in Beijing than in Washington," Sandor said. "In a
Communist economy, the need to do it is very, very high." Under
a cap and trade system, emitters who reduce carbon more than a
set amount earn credits that they can sell.
Carbon is now the largest traded commodity in Europe,
Sandor said. The system works and emissions are declining.
Reduction targets are being met, and need to be tightened, he
said.
"Europe is not as far ahead on cap and trade and China is
not so far behind as people think," Sandor said.
Envoys from around the world are to meet in Cancun in
Mexico from Nov. 29 to Dec. 10 to try to reach an international
agreement on climate change. Negotiators failed to reach a
binding deal on greenhouse gas emission cuts at a United Nations
summit in Copenhagen last year.
Climate Exchange, owner of emissions markets in London and
Chicago, said in September its first-half loss narrowed as
average daily volumes on its European Climate Exchange more than
doubled.
'Bullish' on Markets
The loss was 174,000 pounds ($280,000) compared with 1.38
million pounds, a year earlier, the Douglas, Isle Of Man-based
company said. Traded volumes on its London exchange, the world's
biggest for greenhouse-gas allowances, climbed to 2.69 billion
metric tons of carbon-dioxide equivalent in the first half, up
from 1.07 billion tons a year earlier.
China, the world's biggest polluter, is discussing rules to
implement a domestic carbon-trading market to reduce emissions
and promote clean-energy industries, an official said last
month.
Sandor said he is "very bullish" about the success of
market-based solutions to environmental issues in China and
India.
For Related News and Information:
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
Top stories on China: TOP CHINA <GO>
China Energy Data: ENST CHINA <GO>
--Editors: John Viljoen, Clyde Russell.
To contact the reporter on this story:
John Duce in Hong Kong at +852-2977-2237 or
Jduce1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at +65-6212-1167 or aprakash1@bloomberg.net
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