What is China's New National Carbon Trading Market? - Nancy Sun, Dentons and Andrew Westgate, Latham & Watkins

China Law Podcast

China has launched a national carbon emissions trading system for the first time, with trading set to begin imminently. Multinationals can expect to be significantly affected by the compliance requirements laid out by the new market, while also standing to profit from the new investment opportunities it presents. Nancy Sun and Andrew Westgate discuss what carbon trading is, how it works, how China’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) compares with other ETSs around the world, and what the opportunities and challenges are for MNCs in China.

Find the full in-depth analysis article on this topic here.

Nancy Sun is a senior partner at Dentons in Shanghai, where she advises major foreign and Chinese energy companies on environmental and general corporate matters.

Andrew Westgate is an associate at Latham and Watkins in New York who advises major energy and industrial companies on a range of environmental matters, including environmental credits and carbon neutrality.

The China Law Podcast is a weekly podcast exploring China’s business and financial sectors from a legal perspective. Get in touch at [e-mail] with any feedback and ideas for future episodes.

Episode Outline

• 01:24 How China's national ETS works
• 02:43 Comparison with EU and California ETSs
• 07:23 MNC concerns over carbon trading enforcement
• 08:22 Foreign investor participation and challenges
• 10:06 Transportation not covered under national ETS
• 13:10 Scrutiny of supply chains and price modeling
• 18:00 Voluntary carbon offsets in China
• 20:17 Standardizing different pilot scheme rules
• 21:07 EU carbon leakage tax proposal

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