China's carbon market expands as annual trading volume hits record high

WUHAN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's national carbon market had recorded a cumulative trading volume of 961 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by the end of August 2026, with total turnover reaching 65.7 billion yuan (about 9.71 billion U.S. dollars), according to an ongoing carbon market conference in central China.

An aerial drone photo taken on Dec. 25, 2025 shows people visiting Nakao River wetland park in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (File photo: Xinhua)

In 2025, this market operated for 243 trading days, with annual trading volume hitting a record 235 million tonnes, up 24.36 percent year on year, while transaction value reached 14.63 billion yuan, according to a report released Tuesday at the China Carbon Market Conference 2026 in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

China expanded the market's industry coverage for the first time in 2025. As of 2026, a total of 3,680 key emitters from the power generation, steel, cement and aluminum smelting sectors have been included, covering around 8.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, or more than 65 percent of the national total.

Preparatory work is also underway to bring sectors like petrochemicals, chemicals, papermaking and civil aviation into the market.

China officially launched its national carbon emissions trading market in July 2021, which has since evolved into the world's largest carbon market in terms of total greenhouse gas emissions traded.

China's voluntary greenhouse gas emissions reduction market has also gathered pace. By the end of August, 41 projects had been registered, with cumulative trading volume reaching 21.71 million tonnes and transaction value totaling 1.74 billion yuan.

In March, a mangrove restoration project in Xiapu County of east China's Fujian Province became the first such project to complete registration under the voluntary emissions reduction market, marking a milestone in safeguarding and restoring China's marine ecosystems.

Addressing the conference in Wuhan, Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu said China will further strengthen the carbon market's role in cutting emissions, diversify trading products and market participants, and expand international exchanges and cooperation.

China aims to encompass all major industrial sectors in the carbon trading market by 2027, while the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market is expected to expand to include all key fields, according to a guideline unveiled last year.

China has announced the goal of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.