By Mathew Carr
Nov. 22-23, 2020 — LONDON: China and the EU should consider linking their planned carbon markets to help each other reach their goals of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a former central-bank governor.
The U.S. was set to appoint a carbon-pricing enthusiast as Treasury secretary.
It bodes well for cost-effective climate action.
China’s Zhou Xiaochuan told the International Finance Forum in Guangzhou on Saturday the net-zero target announced by President Xi Jinping in September was “ambitious but difficult,” the newspaper said.
“Carbon markets should be the main incentive mechanism as this would require emissions to be capped,” he was quoted as saying.
China is the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitter and it’s keen to peak them by 2030. The Paris climate agreement already contains sections that would allow linking of carbon markets, cutting the cost of reducing emissions.
The details of those rules have not been fleshed out, but are being negotiated through next November, when there are planned UN climate talks in Glasgow. The EU is seeking to become net zero by 2050, a target that President Joe Biden would apparently match.
The U.S. is also seen potentially embracing carbon pricing to spur emissions cuts and potentially more global cooperation on emission cuts. See this from last month:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-climate-tax-idUSKBN26T23L
Janet Yellen, the former Fed chair and a labor market expert, appears poised to become one of few people to ever have wielded economic power from the White House, the Federal Reserve and the president’s cabinet, according to the New York Times.
She’s poised to become the first female Treasury Secretary.
See:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/business/economy/janet-yellen-treasury-secretary.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
Full story on China-EU cooperation:
More details of China’s carbon market were published over the weekend. See this:
http://carrzee.org/2020/11/21/massive-challenge-this-is-what-chinas-2267-power-plants-look-like-on-paper/
and this:
http://carrzee.org/2020/11/22/china-says-world-needs-proper-climate-policy-proper-role-for-united-nations-proper-global-trade-rules-under-wto/
Beware the geopolitical relations between the U.S., China and the EU:
http://carrzee.org/2020/11/14/big-beast-climate-fight-chinas-criticism-of-u-s-to-ease-as-trump-term-ends/
(Smoothed Tuesday morning London time, U.S. added)