The expansion of the supported sectors in the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market is a significant measure to incentivize a broader range of industries and enterprises to undertake voluntary emission reductions. Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Water Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the National Energy Administration, and other departments, released 12 methodologies covering areas such as oil and gas field recovery and utilization, carbon sinks from silt dams, vegetation restoration of salt marshes and seagrass beds, resource utilization of agricultural waste, new energy utilization, energy conservation and efficiency improvement, and sulfur hexafluoride emission reduction. This marks the entry of the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market into a new phase of rapid development. To help various sectors of society better understand the content of these methodologies, relevant officials from the Department of Climate Change Response of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment provided an introduction.
Q: What progress and achievements has the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market made since its launch?
A: The national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market is an important policy tool for actively addressing climate change and accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. Since its launch in January 2024, the market has achieved a stable start and orderly operation, with its role in promoting carbon reduction and sink enhancement and guiding green investment beginning to show.
First, the entire market operation chain has been established. The market has constructed a framework of "management systems—technical methods—infrastructure," clarifying the rules for the entire process, including project and emission reduction registration, trading, and settlement. Infrastructure such as the registration and trading systems operates stably. A number of validation and verification bodies and verifiers have been accredited, achieving closed-loop management across the entire chain, including registration, validation and verification, and trading. This has laid a solid foundation for the healthy operation of the market.
Second, emission reduction projects are being implemented. The registration system has officially begun accepting applications for project and emission reduction registration, rigorously reviewing application materials such as project validation reports, emission reduction calculation reports, and emission reduction verification reports. Over 140 projects in areas such as grid-connected offshore wind power, grid-connected solar thermal power, afforestation carbon sinks, and mangrove afforestation have been publicly announced. Among these, 33 projects located in Jiangsu, Gansu, and other regions, involving 17.7637 million tons of certified voluntary emission reductions (CCERs), have been successfully registered. The registered projects are expected to achieve approximately 125 million tons of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reductions in the future, with the emission reduction benefits accelerating their transformation into tradable, high-quality carbon assets that support green development.
Third, market trading is active. Market participants are becoming increasingly diverse, with various entities such as project owners, key emission units, and investment institutions opening over 5,700 accounts in total. The cumulative trading volume of CCERs has reached 9.2194 million tons, with a trading value of 650 million yuan and an average price of about 70 yuan per ton. This has effectively provided financial support for projects with clear emission reduction mechanisms and good carbon reduction effects but higher emission reduction costs, guiding the flow of capital and technological elements toward the development of carbon reduction and sink enhancement projects.
In the next step, the Ministry will continue to use the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market to incentivize more industries to undertake greenhouse gas emission reduction actions, continuously improve the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading mechanism, and strive to build a credible, transparent, methodologically unified, widely participated, and internationally aligned national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market. This will inject new momentum and shape new advantages for the development of green and low-carbon industries, making positive contributions to achieving the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and building a beautiful China.
Q: What is the significance and role of releasing the 12 voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction methodologies?
A: The specific sectors supported by the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market are determined by releasing voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction project methodologies. In 2025, the "Opinions on Promoting Green and Low-Carbon Transformation and Strengthening the National Carbon Market Construction" issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council proposed that by 2027, the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market should achieve full coverage of key sectors, setting new development requirements for the voluntary emission reduction market in the next phase. The 12 methodologies released in 2025 represent a large-scale and systematic expansion of the voluntary emission reduction market methodology system, which will effectively enhance the overall efficiency of the voluntary emission reduction market in serving the country's high-quality development.
In terms of promoting the achievement of the national "dual carbon" goals and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the methodologies released this time cover a wide range of sectors, targeting key gaps and difficulties in implementing China's NDCs. They focus on strategic directions for national climate change response and key actions for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, such as renewable energy utilization, energy conservation and efficiency improvement, agricultural waste resource utilization, ecosystem carbon sinks, and non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emission reduction. This provides an effective market incentive mechanism for China to achieve its new round of NDC targets, which encompass the entire economy and all greenhouse gases.
In terms of serving the transformation of ecological value under the "Two Mountains" concept, salt marshes, seagrass beds, and mangroves constitute the "three major components" of China's coastal ecosystem carbon sinks. Silt dam projects embody the "Chinese wisdom" in managing soil erosion on the Loess Plateau. By scientifically designing quantifiable and monitorable carbon sink methodologies, "lucid waters and lush mountains" are transformed into "invaluable assets," and the carbon sink value generated by human restoration is converted into economic benefits. This injects sustainable endogenous motivation into ecological protection and restoration efforts, serving as a vivid practice in exploring the establishment of diversified ecological compensation mechanisms and realizing ecological value transformation.
In terms of cultivating new green productive forces and promoting the green transformation of development models, the methodologies support cutting-edge green technologies and new business models. By providing clear revenue expectations through the voluntary emission reduction market, they reduce the initial application costs of green technologies. The sectors involved in the methodologies and the resulting carbon price signals will become indicators for climate investment and financing, facilitating the flow of financial resources and social capital toward carbon reduction and sink enhancement projects with significant emission reduction potential and comprehensive benefits. This will accelerate the iterative promotion and large-scale application of green and low-carbon technologies, powerfully driving the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development through the "invisible hand" of the market.
Q: What content do the methodologies specify, and which new sectors are included in the voluntary emission reduction trading market?
A: As the primary basis for guiding the design, implementation, validation, and emission reduction calculation and verification of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, the voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction project methodologies clarify the applicable conditions, crediting periods, emission reduction calculation methods, monitoring methods, and key points for validation and verification for various types of projects. Project owners should develop and review voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and emission reductions in accordance with the methodological requirements. After review and registration by validation and verification bodies and the registration authority, they can be sold on the market to obtain corresponding emission reduction contribution benefits.
In the oil and gas field recovery and utilization sector, the methodology for offshore oilfield associated gas recovery and utilization applies to associated gas generated from offshore oilfields. The recovered associated gas is used to produce pipeline natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and other products. The methodology for onshore gas field test gas flaring recovery and utilization applies to the test gas flaring phase of conventional natural gas wells, shale gas wells, and tight gas wells. The recovered test gas is processed into pipeline natural gas, CNG, LNG, and other products. The methodology for onshore oilfield associated gas recovery and utilization applies to associated gas generated from onshore oilfields, with the total design capacity of the associated gas treatment system at the same station being less than 30,000 cubic meters per day. The recovered oilfield associated gas is used to produce pipeline natural gas, LNG, CNG, LPG, stable light hydrocarbons, mixed hydrocarbons, and other products.
In the ecosystem carbon sink sector, the methodology for coastal salt marsh vegetation restoration applies to projects involving artificial planting of salt marsh vegetation on unvegetated tidal flats or tidal flats after the clearance and abandonment of human activities such as illegal marine engineering and mariculture. The methodology for seagrass bed vegetation restoration applies to projects involving artificial planting of seagrass bed vegetation in intertidal or subtidal zones suitable for seagrass growth. The methodology for carbon sinks from silt dams applies to silt dam projects constructed in accordance with the technical specifications for silt dams in the water conservancy industry, where dam land can be used to grow crops or soil and water conservation forests.
In the agricultural waste resource utilization sector, the methodology for large-scale pig farm manure biogas recovery and utilization projects applies to projects that use anaerobic digesters to treat manure from large-scale pig farms and recover and utilize the biogas produced. The methodology for centralized agricultural waste treatment projects applies to projects that treat agricultural waste such as livestock manure, crop straw, and vegetable residues through anaerobic digesters and use the biogas produced for power generation, biogas supply, or bio-natural gas production.
In the new energy utilization sector, the methodology for renewable energy water electrolysis hydrogen production applies to projects that have self-built wind or photovoltaic power generation facilities and use renewable energy electricity to drive water electrolysis reactions to produce hydrogen. Electricity obtained from the grid is not included in the emission reduction calculation. The methodology for medium-deep geothermal energy downhole heat exchange heating technology application projects applies to projects that use downhole heat exchange technology to develop medium-deep geothermal energy for building heating.
In the energy conservation and efficiency improvement sector, the methodology for energy efficiency improvement of existing public building envelopes and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems applies to energy-saving renovation projects with higher costs for existing public buildings such as offices, hotels, shopping malls, cultural and educational facilities, medical facilities, performance venues, transportation hubs, sports venues, and exhibition centers. These projects involve exterior wall insulation renovation, interior wall insulation renovation, window replacement or upgrading, curtain wall and skylight replacement, chiller replacement, heat pump unit replacement, and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) air conditioning system replacement.
In the sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) emission reduction sector, the methodology for SF₆ recovery and purification from electrical equipment applies to projects in the power grid, power generation, and transportation sectors that recover and purify SF₆ gas emitted during the decommissioning or maintenance of electrical equipment with a voltage level of 66 kV and above. The recovered and purified SF₆ gas must meet industrial SF₆ requirements and be reused.
Q: What procedures are followed in the development and release of the methodologies?
A: As technical guidelines for the design and implementation of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects, the quality of methodologies directly affects the "real money" benefits of project owners and trading entities, as well as the credibility and vitality of the entire market. The Ministry attaches great importance to the development of methodologies and has established a set of scientific, rigorous, efficient, orderly, and multi-stakeholder participation procedures to ensure that each released methodology can withstand scrutiny and practical testing.
First, proposal solicitation and evaluation selection. To build a high-quality, nationally unified voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market and encourage broad and in-depth participation from all sectors of society in greenhouse gas emission reduction actions, we have continuously solicited methodological proposals from the public since 2023, gathering professional expertise from all sectors to jointly establish and improve the methodological system. The registration system maintains a long-term open channel for soliciting methodological proposals, enabling regular collection. To date, over 600 methodological proposals have been received, covering sectors such as energy industry, construction, transportation, fugitive fuel emissions, waste treatment and disposal, forestry and other carbon sinks, agriculture, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). Based on principles such as clear emission reduction mechanisms, driving innovation, balancing costs and benefits, combining social and ecological benefits, ensuring data quality, and enabling effective supervision, methodological proposals with promotion potential are selected and individually organized for revision and improvement.
Second, text development and solicitation of comments. Industry associations, project owners, research institutes, validation and verification bodies, and other stakeholders are organized to conduct research, and comments are solicited from the public, relevant industry authorities, and local ecological and environmental authorities. For these 12 methodologies, over 850 comments and suggestions were collected. We studied and discussed each one, making revisions and improvements, and reached broad consensus on key issues such as applicability conditions, additionality, baseline scenarios, data quality, and cost-benefit analysis of the methodologies.
Third, technical review and issuance for implementation. Methodologies must undergo review and evaluation by experts in climate change, industry technology, metrology and monitoring, validation and verification, and other fields to ensure they meet requirements for scientific rigor, conservativeness, and operability. For released methodologies, we will regularly conduct post-assessment based on changes in policy requirements, technological advancements, and practical feedback, and organize revisions as appropriate to ensure they continue to lead technological progress and align with management realities.
Q: What are the characteristics of the newly released methodologies? How does their design reflect the high quality of China's carbon credits?
A: The development of methodologies for the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market consistently adheres to internationally accepted rules, fully reflecting anthropogenic and additional emission reduction contributions. It upholds the principle of conservatism, strictly maintains the bottom line of data quality, and ensures that data is accountable, traceable, and verifiable. It emphasizes the scientific rigor, rationality, and practicality of the methodological rules, simplifying methodologies scientifically to reduce project development complexity and costs. This effectively leverages the incentive role of market mechanisms to promote the implementation of more voluntary emission reduction projects.
First, it forms a Chinese approach with international influence. Based on full compliance with internationally accepted rules, it incorporates original designs aligned with China's practices in carbon reduction and sink enhancement. For example, the methodology for carbon sinks from silt dams establishes, for the first time globally, carbon accounting rules for soil and water conservation projects. The methodology for the recovery and utilization of gas flared during testing in onshore gas fields innovatively builds a monitoring and accounting system for this specific sector, filling an international gap. These practices not only tell China's story well in global climate action but also provide practical and feasible "Chinese solutions" for the development and improvement of international carbon markets.
Second, it establishes a comprehensive data quality management system. For data acquisition, all measurement instruments must be installed and regularly inspected/calibrated according to national and industry technical standards to ensure the reliability of source data. For data storage, key monitoring data must be connected in real-time to the national carbon market management platform, enabling traceability and immutability of data sources through information technology. For data calculation, cross-verification mechanisms such as "forward calculation + reverse calculation" checks are established, adopting the smaller emission reduction value based on the conservative principle. For data management, project owners are required to establish internal data quality management systems to solidify their primary responsibility.
Third, it balances emission reduction benefits with project economics. The methodologies precisely focus on "small but beautiful" projects with clear economic feasibility challenges, adopting approaches that exempt additional demonstration to lower project development barriers. They provide nationally surveyed statistical data as default values where possible to simplify on-site sampling and monitoring burdens. They allow small or dispersed projects to be developed in "bundles," spreading costs through economies of scale to effectively stimulate emission reduction motivation.
Q: Following the release of the methodologies, what further work will the Ministry of Ecology and Environment undertake to promote the implementation of voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects?
A: To ensure the high-quality implementation of the methodologies and effectively translate corporate emission reduction actions into emission reduction revenue, we will focus on the following three areas in the next steps.
First, ensuring foundational services. We will enhance the service efficiency of market institutions such as the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction registry and trading institutions to ensure smooth and efficient operation of project review, registration, and trading processes. We will collaborate with the State Administration for Market Regulation to advance the qualification approval process for third-party validation and verification bodies, meeting the growing market demand for services. We will join forces with relevant industry authorities and local governments to actively guide and support related project development, forming a coordinated and synergistic working framework.
Second, strengthening capacity building. We will organize systematic, multi-level training activities targeting local government departments, project owners, financial institutions, and technical service providers to comprehensively explain the technical requirements of the methodologies and the processes for project and emission reduction development, ensuring that "those willing to participate know how to participate." We will promote the standardization and normalization of third-party validation and verification services, providing the market with professional and reliable technical support.
Third, enhancing supervision and management. We will establish a three-tier supervision mechanism at the national, provincial, and municipal levels, promoting the fulfillment of "dual commitment" responsibilities by project owners and validation/verification bodies, and implementing effective oversight of projects and emission reductions. We will fully leverage the role of networked monitoring data in supervision and enforcement, utilizing information technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things to improve management efficiency.