Asia Pacific > China’s carbon offset market growth hampered by pre-CDM dominance

China’s carbon offset market growth hampered by pre-CDM dominance

Published 07:19 on July 21, 2015  /  Last updated at 07:37 on July 21, 2015  / Stian Reklev /  Asia Pacific, China

The number of approved carbon offset projects in China has ballooned to 178 with a total capacity of generating 31.6 million CCERs each year, but pre-CDM projects banned in most pilot markets still account for nearly three-quarters of the projects, according to data from analysts at project developer Hetan.

The number of approved carbon offset projects in China has ballooned to 178 with a total capacity of generating 31.6 million CCERs each year, but pre-CDM projects banned in most pilot markets still account for nearly three-quarters of the projects, according to data from analysts at project developer Hetan.

Over the past month, the NDRC has approved 11 projects, all of them wind farms, according to Hetan.

But only one of them was a new project, the remaining 10 were so-called pre-CDM projects, which are banned outright in the Beijing, Chongqing, Guangdong, Shanghai and Tianjin markets. They are eligible in Hubei and Shenzhen, but even there eligibility depends on geographic location.

As many as 127 of the 178 projects approved so far, 72%, are pre-CDM, the Hetan data showed. New projects, so-called Category 1 CCERs, only make up 24% of the portfolio, severely restricting offset supply to the pilot emissions trading schemes.

The NDRC did not issue any new offsets over the past month, keeping the total at around 20 million.

The Chinese offset portfolio is dominated by renewable energy projects, with wind (71) and hydro (47) the most popular.

According to Hetan, the total pipeline, including projects that have applied for registration, has grown to 830 projects, with 73 added the last month.

By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com

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