Workers patrol a 500-kilovolt electricity transmission and transformation project in Changxing county, Huzhou city in East China's Zhejiang Province, on January 21, 2025. Data from the National Energy Administration showed on Monday that China's total social electricity consumption reached 9.85 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2024, an increase of 6.8 percent year-on-year. Photo: VCG
China issued a guideline on promoting the high-quality development of renewable energy and the green electricity certificate (GEC) market on Tuesday. The guideline specifies that China's green certificate market trading system will be basically complete by 2027, and the market will be further improved by 2030, operating in an efficient and orderly manner.
Industry observers said that the guideline will improve the market competitiveness of China's clean energy and significantly expand the relevant market's trading scale, which is conducive for the country's long-term green energy consumption and development. Also, the guideline is expected to further align China's green energy certificates with international standards, providing an important basis for the expansion of Chinese manufacturers into markets where carbon taxes are high, analysts noted.
According to the guideline, by 2027, China will basically establish a GEC market trading system, and the green electricity consumption mechanism - which combines mandatory and voluntary consumption - will be further improved. The market potential of green certificates will be rapidly unlocked, and their international application will be steadily advanced, achieving the smooth nationwide circulation of green certificates.
By 2030, the GEC system will be further improved, with a significant increase in society's demand for independent consumption of green electricity, according to the guideline. The international application of GECs will be effectively realized, and the environmental value of green electricity will be reasonably reflected, which will strongly support the high-quality development of renewable energy and contribute to the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development.
The guideline has been published on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner. It was jointly issued by the NDRC, along with other four government departments, including the National Energy Administration as well as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Industry analysts said that the core of the new policy is to accelerate China's green energy transition, both in terms of production and consumption. China has announced the "dual carbon" goals of peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.
Liu Yong, secretary-general of the Energy Storage Application Branch at the China Industrial Association of Power Sources, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the guideline is expected to drive clean energy adoption and investment, significantly advancing China's green transition and the global renewable energy landscape.
Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Tuesday that an improvement in the GEC mechanism will offset certain disadvantages associated with renewable energy consumption, such as intermittent supply and prices with low market competitiveness.
"Green electricity producing companies can sell green electricity at lower prices, which are comparable to those of traditional energy, while supplementing their income through GEC trading, ensuring economic viability," Lin explained, noting that it is also part of the broad national effort to make the trading of clean energy more market-oriented.
The guideline also contains detailed measures that aim to boost the GEC market: stabilizing supply, stimulating demand for consumption, improving trading mechanisms, expanding application and promoting international adoption.
For example, the proportion of green electricity consumption in newly built data centers at national hub nodes should be further increased on the basis of 80 percent of the total consumption, the guideline noted.
Also, a number of electricity-powered factories, green electricity parks, and other facilities with a high proportion of green electricity consumption will be developed in regions with favorable conditions in a categorized and tiered manner, encouraging them to achieve 100-percent green electricity consumption, read the guideline.
According to Lin, those policies also seek to align China's green certificate standards with international frameworks, promoting mutual recognition and helping Chinese manufacturing enterprises navigate in overseas markets such as the EU, where high carbon emissions could inflict extra taxes and GEC trading could offset certain taxes.
As of the end of 2024, China had issued 4.955 billion GECs, a year-on-year increase of 21.42 times, according to a report by China Central Television. A total of 553 million GECs were traded, a year-on-year increase of 4.19 times, equivalent to 553 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity.
