Chongqing Carbon Market Tops 1,200 Participants, Targets Full Greenhouse-Gas Coverage

Chongqing’s local carbon market has surpassed 1,200 registered trading entities, with lifetime volume reaching approximately 55.33 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent and cumulative turnover of around 1.342 billion yuan, according to officials speaking at the city’s National Low Carbon Day event on June 17. Western China’s only pilot carbon market, Chongqing is pursuing national leadership on a specific dimension: becoming the first local market in China to cover all seven major greenhouse gases — including methane alongside CO₂ — within a single trading framework. The city’s Ecology and Environment Bureau noted that its regulatory structure, described as a “1+4+N” institutional system, runs mandatory and voluntary reduction mechanisms in parallel.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), Chongqing’s carbon price climbed from 14.6 yuan per tonne to 36 yuan per tonne, annual trading days nearly doubled, and the market’s turnover rate rose from 0.2% to 4%. The compliance rate among covered entities reached 99.7%, with 56 key emitters collectively recording an allowance surplus of roughly 490,000 tonnes. Emission reductions were also reported across specific sectors, with output-weighted CO₂ volumes falling by approximately 4.4% in paper manufacturing, 1.9% in ceramics, and 3.5% in food processing. More than 50 key emitters have adopted renewable sources such as rooftop photovoltaic, yielding an estimated 330,000 tonnes in annual CO₂ reductions.

Before December 2026, Chongqing intends to align its allowance allocation system with the national dual carbon-control framework, extend trading coverage to non-CO₂ greenhouse gases, and lower entry thresholds for industrial participants, while beginning to phase in non-industrial sectors including data centres, buildings, and transport. Carbon-reporting and registry platforms are to be folded into the city’s “Bayu Zhiqi” environmental management system by December 2027. Separately, officials cited a 2027 cumulative carbon-allowance trading value target of 1.36 billion yuan.