China to accelerate building carbon emission calculation system

Aerial photo taken on Aug. 25, 2022 shows a view of Maowei floating photovoltaic power station on water in Gucheng Township of Yingshang County, east China's Anhui Province. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan)

BEIJING, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said Thursday that it would expedite the construction of a unified and standardized national system to calculate carbon emissions.

Focusing on sectors, companies and key products in the calculation, the ministry and relevant departments will also formulate a list of greenhouse gases, said Li Gao, a ministry official, at a press conference.

Li said amid China's green shift, the national carbon trading market, which opened in July last year, had operated in an orderly manner, with structure and rules established and expectations met.

As of Oct. 21, the total transaction volume of the market reached 8.58 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars), said the official.

The ministry will ramp up data quality management, strengthen the functions of the market, and optimize the country's certified emissions reduction mechanism to help the market thrive, Li added.

China has announced that it will strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.