(Originally published on 02/17/2017)

February 17, Beijing—The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was pleased to host the launch of the Environomist 2017 Carbon Market Research Report at the UN Compound today, alongside the South Pole Carbon Asset Management, Ant Financial, and many other experts in the field.

The fourth edition of the Environomist’s China Carbon Market Research Report examines the outlook for China’s carbon market on the eve of the launch of the national emissions trading scheme. The previous three reports have documented the early developments of the Chinese market through the seven ETS pilots, national and non-pilot area policies, and a description of various types of financial services available to facilitate greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and participation in the carbon markets.

This report expands on this work discussing the performance of and policy developments in China’s carbon markets in 2016 as well as innovations in carbon finance. Environomist’s annual survey of stakeholders in the carbon market provides a snapshot of attitudes towards and experiences with China’s carbon markets. One critical finding is that the majority of enterprises in the pilot carbon markets have benefitted financially from participation in ETS.

UNDP Deputy Country Director, Patrick Haverman welcomed the packed audience. Richard Mao, lead author of the report presented key findings, and a panel that included Caspar Chiquet,  Head of Global Consulting for South Pole Carbon Asset Management, Albert de Haan, Chair of Carbon Rooster Advisory Services,  Chen Lifeng, Deputy General Manager of the Shanghai CFETS-ICAP International Money Broking Company, Helen He Programme Manager, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Samantha Anderson, Senior Adviser, Climate Change and Sustainable Cities, UNDP China, gave feedback on the report.