China’s long-awaited national carbon market is set to miss the government’s target to have trading underway by the end of June.

It’s unclear when the system will begin operating, a spokesperson with the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange, which will host trading, said Monday. Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu had said in February that he wanted the first trades to commence by the end of June.

Trading won’t now happen until after July 1 because of a lack of organization, according to a person familiar with its development. It’s unclear how long the start will be delayed, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
中国期待已久的全国碳市场改革势必达不到政府在6月底前开始交易的目标。

上海环境与能源交易所(Shanghai Environment And Energy Exchange)的一位发言人周一说，目前还不清楚该系统何时开始运行。上海环境与能源交易所将主持交易。生态环境部部长黄润秋曾在2月份表示，他希望在6月底之前开始第一批交易。

据一位知情人士透露，由于缺乏组织，交易现在要到7月1日之后才会进行。据这位在讨论私人信息时要求不具名的人士说，目前还不清楚开工时间会推迟多久。
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment, which oversees the carbon market, didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment. “We progress our work on the arrangements of the higher authorities and departments,” the Shanghai exchange spokesperson said.

It’s a fresh set-back for what will be the world’s largest carbon market, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions covered. China’s government had previously set itself a deadline to launch by the end of 2020 until plans were disrupted by the pandemic.
负责监管碳市场的生态环境部没有回复传真的置评请求。上海证券交易所发言人表示：“我们在上级机关和部门的安排上推进了工作。”

就温室气体排放量而言，这将成为世界上最大的碳市场，这是一个新的挫折。中国政府此前给自己设定了在2020年底之前发射的最后期限，直到计划被大流行打乱。

China’s system is intended to force companies to pay for at least some permits to release carbon dioxide, encouraging them to use fuel more efficiently and reduce pollution. Those that fail to do so could be fined or will need to pay for more permits to pollute. Companies that quickly cut emissions will be able to sell spare allowances for profit.

Rules guiding the market became official on Feb. 1. It will initially cover more than 2,200 companies in China’s power sector, which account for about half of the emissions in the world’s biggest polluter. The program will eventually grow to encompass more industries, such as steel- and cement-makers.
市场被视为习主席可以用来帮助实现中国到2030年达到峰值排放和到2060年达到碳中和的目标的另一个工具。据花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)称，该交易所的交易额一开始可能达到每年8亿美元，未来10年将扩大30倍以上。

中国的制度旨在迫使企业支付至少部分排放二氧化碳的许可证，鼓励它们更高效地使用燃料，减少污染。那些未能做到这一点的人可能会被罚款，或者需要支付更多的污染许可证。快速减排的公司将能够出售多余的排放额度以赚取利润。

指导市场的规则于2月1日正式生效。它最初将覆盖中国电力行业的2200多家公司，这些公司的排放量约占世界最大污染国的一半。该计划最终将扩大到涵盖更多行业，如钢铁和水泥制造商。