Every company regulated under Shanghai’s carbon emissions trading pilot met its 2025 allowance surrender obligations by June 30, 2026, marking a 13th consecutive year of 100% compliance for the scheme — a record local officials are holding up as a model for other regional carbon markets in China.
Since its launch, the Shanghai pilot has recorded cumulative trading volume of 268 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent allowances, with cumulative transaction value surpassing 5.713 billion yuan. Around 12,000 tonnes of credits from Shanghai’s “carbon inclusive” community-level emissions-reduction programwere used by covered companies to offset a portion of their allowance obligations.
Green power procurement also expanded: more than 40% of regulated firms bought renewable electricity this cycle, with that share up 60% from the prior compliance period. Separately, 13 companies qualified for policy incentives tied to projects combining pollution control with carbon-reduction retrofits. Local authorities framed the results as evidence that sustained compliance pressure and diversified reduction incentives are pushing energy-intensive firms toward efficiency upgrades.
Carbon Market Context
- Shanghai’s pilot is one of China’s original regional emissions trading schemes predating the national ETS, and its compliance and offset mechanisms — including allowance trading and local offset credits — continue to operate alongside the national market, giving it a longer track record than most other regional pilots in the country.
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