China’s ETS only covers power plants
China ETS carbon prices rally to record highs
Allowance prices rise 34% since start of year as regulator imposes tighter limits and considers reduction of free allocations
China’s ETS has passed a milestone after the spot price of carbon allowances topped RMB100/t ($13.8/t) for the first time since it opened for business nearly three years ago. The rising price and potentially fewer credits available for trading could benefit renewable energy providers by incentivising more demand for green power from emitters that will soon be covered by the ETS. China’s ETS covers only the power generation sector, with more than 2,000 mostly coal-fired plants included in the scheme. The power plants account for about 40% of national emissions. Each participating power plant is allocated free allowances every year based on the benchmark emission intensity of 0.818/t of CO₂/MW
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
