It’s been a slow road for China’s long-awaited national carbon market. Announced by Chinese president Xi Jinping in 2015 and launched in 2017, the market promises to be the world’s largest – and the developing world’s first – national emissions trading scheme.
Hailed as a potential game-changer in the fight against climate change, it represents a core element of Mr Xi’s “war on pollution”. But after years of delays, the market has yet to trade a single yuan. The Covid-19 crisis could be the impetus that gets the national carbon market back on track.
