China's Cap And Trade Will Cover Less Than 1/2 Of Emissions By 2020 - Details Sparse

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The world's top two greenhouse gas emitting nations also agreed to stand together during the crucial round of talks on a new global deal beginning in Paris in late November, agreeing that emissions targets should "ramp up over time in the direction of greater ambition".

There were no specific new measures from either side, however, to build on pledges made last November, when China said it would bring its spiralling emissions to a peak by "around 2030" while the United States promised to cut its own CO2 by 26-28 percent by 2025 compared to the 2005 level.

"I wouldn't underestimate the importance of this kind of working together," said Bret Harper, Associate Director of Research at Australian clean energy consultant RepuTex. "But in terms of pure substance, there weren't really any new announcements beyond some kind of fuzzy things regarding what China wants to do in the power sector and potential linking of carbon markets in the distant future."

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Beijing has so far been reluctant to increase the financial burden on industrial firms, with nearly all carbon permits in the existing schemes allocated free of charge, meaning that actual carbon trade has been limited. Market designers estimate that a nationwide scheme would regulate 3-4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by 2020, which would still amount to less than half of China's estimated total annual emissions. Experts say it is unlikely to provide a "silver bullet" unless it is backed up by other reforms.

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http://www.trust.org/item/20150928054417-2mnhu/?source=fiOtherNews2