3 Low-Carbon Transition (Peaking) of Chinese Cities: The Case …
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authorities of carbon trading would have their hands tied when formulating
penalty measures as no heftier fines could be levied, hence no deterrence for
violations.
As per the Decisions on Carbon Trading Pilot under the Premise of Strictly
Capping Carbon Emissions adopted at the 8th Session of the 14th Standing
Committee of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress on December 27, 2013,
failure to submit carbon emission report or third party verification report shall
be rectified by the competent department overseeing climate change under the
Municipal People’s Government; overdue rectification shall incur a fine of not
more than 50,000 RMB yuan; If a key emit makes emissions beyond the permitted
allowance, the competent department of climate change shall order it to fulfill
the responsibility of emission control within a time limit, and may be punished
according to the amount of carbon emission exceeding the permitted allowances
according to 3–5 times of the average carbon market price. In the first year of
compliance (2014), 97.1% of the 415 key emitters complied on their own accord,
and the 12 emitters that failed to do so were punished with a fine 3–5 times of the
average carbon market price in strict according with the regulation. Over the first
six months of 2014, carbon allowances were traded at 54.57 RMB yuan/ton on
average, so non-compliant emitters in Beijing were fined 164 RMB yuan/ton, 218
RMB yuan/ton and 273 RMB yuan/ton respectively for their excess emissions
of less than 10%, 10–20% and over 20% in 2013. By imposing the heaviest fine
on non-compliance, Beijing became a paragon for strict enforcement across the
country.
2. Strengthen the Enforcement of Carbon Trading.
The carbon trading system is highly complex and involves a range of industries
of economic and social development. How the system is implemented will determine the authenticity of the outcome, thus bearing notable impact on the homogeneity of the allowances. In relative terms, carbon trading policies in Beijing
have been rigorously implemented, engaging such stakeholders as authorities,
traders, verification institutions and policy advisors, as well as a law enforcement taskforce created for supervising non-compliance and ensuring the data
quality of enterprises.
Create detailed rules and taskforces for law enforcement. For instance, Beijing
has stepped up supervision on carbon market to prompt compliance, and levied
fines 3–5 times of the average carbon market price. The Provisions on Regulating
the Discretion of Administrative Penalties for Carbon Emission Trading have
been issued to confer legal grounds to penalties, impose fines that are commensurate with the breaches, ensure the exercise of comprehensive discretion and
the legality and rationality of the discretion in administrative penalties. It also
clarified the types and ranges of penalties.
85
authorities of carbon trading would have their hands tied when formulating
penalty measures as no heftier fines could be levied, hence no deterrence for
violations.
As per the Decisions on Carbon Trading Pilot under the Premise of Strictly
Capping Carbon Emissions adopted at the 8th Session of the 14th Standing
Committee of Beijing Municipal People’s Congress on December 27, 2013,
failure to submit carbon emission report or third party verification report shall
be rectified by the competent department overseeing climate change under the
Municipal People’s Government; overdue rectification shall incur a fine of not
more than 50,000 RMB yuan; If a key emit makes emissions beyond the permitted
allowance, the competent department of climate change shall order it to fulfill
the responsibility of emission control within a time limit, and may be punished
according to the amount of carbon emission exceeding the permitted allowances
according to 3–5 times of the average carbon market price. In the first year of
compliance (2014), 97.1% of the 415 key emitters complied on their own accord,
and the 12 emitters that failed to do so were punished with a fine 3–5 times of the
average carbon market price in strict according with the regulation. Over the first
six months of 2014, carbon allowances were traded at 54.57 RMB yuan/ton on
average, so non-compliant emitters in Beijing were fined 164 RMB yuan/ton, 218
RMB yuan/ton and 273 RMB yuan/ton respectively for their excess emissions
of less than 10%, 10–20% and over 20% in 2013. By imposing the heaviest fine
on non-compliance, Beijing became a paragon for strict enforcement across the
country.
2. Strengthen the Enforcement of Carbon Trading.
The carbon trading system is highly complex and involves a range of industries
of economic and social development. How the system is implemented will determine the authenticity of the outcome, thus bearing notable impact on the homogeneity of the allowances. In relative terms, carbon trading policies in Beijing
have been rigorously implemented, engaging such stakeholders as authorities,
traders, verification institutions and policy advisors, as well as a law enforcement taskforce created for supervising non-compliance and ensuring the data
quality of enterprises.
Create detailed rules and taskforces for law enforcement. For instance, Beijing
has stepped up supervision on carbon market to prompt compliance, and levied
fines 3–5 times of the average carbon market price. The Provisions on Regulating
the Discretion of Administrative Penalties for Carbon Emission Trading have
been issued to confer legal grounds to penalties, impose fines that are commensurate with the breaches, ensure the exercise of comprehensive discretion and
the legality and rationality of the discretion in administrative penalties. It also
clarified the types and ranges of penalties.