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China’s Carbon Market Plan May Let Coal Plants Keep Polluting

  • National proposal offers more generous allowances than pilots
  • Current plan probably won’t push coal plants to shut: BNEF
Industry in Ningbo as China 1Q GDP Drops 6.8%
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

In a rush to start the world’s biggest carbon market, China is looking to have a more lax approach to emissions rather than cut greenhouse gases in the short-term.

Under pressure to start a national carbon trading system that aims to force power firms to pay for their emissions by the end of the year, policy makers are proposing looser restrictions that are more likely to get companies on board while kicking the can down the road on how to tighten those limits.