Workers install and work in the 110 kV power transmission and transformation substation of Mengguan, Guoyang County, Anhui. Photo by Liu Qinli (China Economic Vision)
A few days ago, the national carbon emissions trading market officially launched online trading. With more than 2,200 power generation companies included in the list of key emission units, my country has become the world’s largest carbon market.
While welcoming the “opening” of the carbon market, there are also some concerns in the community. For example, what is the price of carbon trading? Will it increase the cost of the power generation industry? Will it trigger an increase in residential electricity prices? In this regard, a reporter from the Economic Daily conducted an interview.
Carbon price will gradually increase
At present, there are two main ways to price carbon in the world, namely carbon tax and carbon market.
Carbon tax is an administrative order. The government imposes a mandatory levy on enterprises. It sets the price of carbon, but cannot determine the future emissions. Carbon trading is a market method, and carbon is regulated through policies. The total amount of emissions, and the price of carbon is determined by the market transaction itself.
Countries around the world have different choices according to their own conditions. According to statistics from the World Bank, as of 2020, there are 61 carbon pricing mechanisms that have been implemented or are under planning globally, including 31 carbon emission trading systems and 30 carbon tax plans.
In both the carbon tax and the carbon market, China chooses the carbon market.
Zhao Yingmin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, previously introduced at the State Council’s regular policy briefing that domestic and foreign practices have shown that the carbon market achieves specific emission reduction targets at lower costs Compared with traditional administrative management methods, these policy tools can not only consolidate the responsibility of greenhouse gas emission control to enterprises, but also provide corresponding economic incentives for carbon emission reduction, reduce the emission reduction cost of the whole society, and promote green technological innovation And industrial investment provide an effective tool for dealing with the relationship between economic development and carbon emission reduction.
After the official online transaction, my country’s carbon price has exceeded previous expectations. Zhao Yingmin introduced that before the launch of the national carbon market, the weighted average carbon price in the past two years was about 40 yuan based on the operation of the seven local pilots. On July 16, the first day of the opening of the national carbon market, the opening price of carbon emission allowances was 48 yuan/ton and the closing price was 51.23 yuan/ton.
“In the future, with policy tightening and emission reduction efforts, carbon prices are bound to rise.” Chai Qimin, director of the Strategic Planning Department of the National Climate Strategy Center, believes that the current national carbon The market has just started and is still in its incubation period. From the perspective of policy makers, it is hoped that companies can become familiar with the rules as soon as possible and take the initiative to embark on the track of low-carbon development.
Similarly, Lin Boqiang, Dean of the China Energy Policy Research Institute of Xiamen University, believes that carbon trading has just begun, and as the volume of trading increases, carbon prices will gradually increase. But it will be a gentle ascension process, and there will be no particularly drastic changes.
Increased costs for traditional electricity companies
At present, the first batch of national carbon market only includes the power generation industry, which means that the carbon market is based on the power industry. As a breakthrough, power generation companies will take the lead in launching carbon trading.
“Carbon trading started in the power generation industry. There are several reasons.” Lin Boqiang analyzed that, first, power generation companies are one of the largest carbon emission sectors in China and consume Almost half of the coal is consumed; second, the power generation industry’s carbon emissions statistics are relatively difficult, such as how much coal is consumed in total, and most of them are state-owned enterprises, which is relatively easy to implement; third, the current electricity prices in China, especially residential electricity prices, are stable. The cost of carbon trading will not be easily transmitted to the downstream of the industrial chain, which means that the impact on the economy and society is controllable.
According to international experience, because of the large amount of carbon dioxide emissions and the large amount of coal consumption, the power generation industry is the first choice for inclusion in the carbon market of various countries. The power generation industry is included first, which can simultaneously play a synergistic role in reducing pollution and carbon.
The report “China Energy and Power Development Outlook 2020” released by the State Grid Energy Institute shows that as the level of terminal electrification continues to increase, power demand will remain sustained and rapid until 2035 With growth, part of carbon emissions will gradually shift from the end-use energy sector to the power industry, and electric energy will gradually occupy the core position of end-use energy.
Currently, my country’s carbon market quota adopts an industry benchmark law with intensity control as the basic idea, and implements freedistribute. When allocating allowances, it will be based on the actual output of the company to benchmark the advanced carbon emission level of the industry. However, in principle, the carbon emission allowances allocated to enterprises will decrease year by year to promote enterprises’ emission reduction.
Lin Boqiang said that due to rising costs, the coal-fired power generation industry will be affected to a certain extent. In contrast, the new energy power generation industry, such as renewable energy power generation, Industries such as nuclear power have comparative advantages. From the perspective of the change from subsidy support to relying on market reforms, it also means that my country’s clean energy has reached a higher level.
Lin Boqiang analyzed that various impacts will force power companies to weigh the costs of all parties, develop more new business models, transform business models, enhance their financial attributes, and invest in new energy. Blue ocean.
The tiered electricity price system will improve
“The pressure on power generation companies from rising carbon prices will be transmitted to electricity prices. “Lin Boqiang said that electricity is used as a basic input, and the country will maintain the stability of the fundamentals of the industry, but the electricity reform will definitely follow.
In fact, there has been a noticeable increase in the recent voices about power reform.
On July 15, the official website of the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the “Notice on Trial Implementation of Seasonal Peak Electricity Prices and Demand Response Electricity Prices (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)” for public solicitation opinion.
In its recent reply, the National Development and Reform Commission confessed that for a long time, my country’s trial of lower residential electricity prices, and residential electricity prices significantly lower than the cost of power supply, is because Industrial and commercial users have undertaken the corresponding cross-subsidies. Compared with other countries in the world, my country’s residential electricity prices are relatively low, while industrial and commercial electricity prices are relatively high.
The National Development and Reform Commission stated that in accordance with the requirements of further deepening the market-oriented reform of electricity prices, the next step is to improve the tiered electricity price system for residents, gradually alleviate the cross-subsidy of electricity prices, and make electricity prices better Reflect the cost of power supply, restore the commodity attributes of electricity, and form a residential electricity price mechanism that more fully reflects the cost of electricity, the relationship between supply and demand, and the degree of scarcity of resources.
“In most foreign countries, the price of residential electricity is higher than that of industrial electricity.” Lin Boqiang said that this is mainly due to the scattered electricity consumption of residents and the concentrated time consumption during peak hours. , The cost is higher than industrial electricity. However, my country has continued the state where the price of industrial electricity is higher than that of residential electricity.
Lin Boqiang analyzed that at present, the rise in electricity costs is more likely to be transmitted to industry, but it does not mean that residents’ electricity consumption will remain motionless, and it may be moderately adjusted.
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