China’s Carbon Emission Trading System: Past, Present, and Future

China's carbon emission trading system is a key market-based instrument for actively tackling climate change and accelerating the low-carbon transition. Since 2010, China has explored ETS by establishing pilots and officially launched the National ETS in 2021. The National ETS now covers approximately 3,600 enterprises in four sectors: power generation, iron and steel, cement, and aluminum smelter, covering about 8 billion tonnes of GHG emissions—making it the world's largest carbon market by emissions coverage. The report provides a comprehensive review of the historical evolution, current policy design, market operation performance, and outlook of China's carbon ETS.