Beijing: Emissions Fall in First Tear of Carbon Trading

Carbon dioxide emissions from Beijing's major polluters fell 4.5 percent in 2013 as a nascent emissions trading scheme cut compliance costs for firms, the Chinese capital's municipal government said on Monday.

Beijing is one of seven cities and provinces in China that have launched pilot emissions trading schemes ahead of a national market to be launched in the world's biggest-emitting nation in 2016.

The Beijing market began in November, but with caps on CO2 emissions for participating companies backdated to the beginning of the year.

"According to preliminary estimates, the total emissions volume of major emitting firms fell around 4.5 percent in 2013," the Beijing Development and Reform Commission (DRC), the agency operating the scheme, said in a note on its website.

It said that preliminary estimates showed that the average cost of cutting emissions in Beijing has fallen by 2.5 percent as a result of establishing the trading platform.

However, it did not say how many tonnes of CO2 were emitted or how many carbon permits were issued.

The first year of the scheme coincided with a major push by the local government to reduce coal consumption as the city is battling an air pollution crisis that has caused major public resentment. Coal is also a major source of climate-changing carbon emissions.

The DRC said the city's carbon intensity - emissions per additional industrial output value - fell 6.7 percent year-on-year, compared to an annual target of 2.5 percent.

China has pledged to cut its carbon intensity to 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.

The market saw around 2 million permits change hands during the 2013 compliance year, which ended in June 2014, at a total market value of just over 100 million yuan ($16.3 million).

According to the DRC statement, 97.1 percent of companies complied with scheme rules during the first year, with 12 facilities failing to do so.

A report released last week showed that China now emits more carbon dioxide than the United States and European Union combined.

Even though emissions are slowing down in parts of the industrialised eastern part of the country, China's overall emissions are expected to continue to grow until at least 2030, as it will rely on fossil fuels to develop its poor western regions.

Reporting by Stian Reklev and David Stanway