The basic principle of carbon trading is that one party to the contract pays the cost of greenhouse gas emission reduction to the other party, and the buyer can use the purchased emission reduction to alleviate the greenhouse effect and achieve his own emission reduction goal. Among the six greenhouse gases that need to be reduced, the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) is the largest, so this transaction is calculated in units of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton (tCO2e), so it is commonly known as "carbon trading". This market is called carbon market. Rules are the first and most important core element of the carbon market. Some rules are mandatory. For example, the Protocol is one of the most important mandatory rules in the carbon market.
The Protocol sets quantified emission reduction targets for Annex I countries (developed countries and countries with economies in transition). From 2008 to 20 12, the greenhouse gas emission ratio of China decreased by 5.2% on average. Other rules derived from the Protocol, such as the collective emission reduction target of EU 20 12 is to reduce emissions by 8% on the basis of 1990. In 2005, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) was established to establish trading rules. Of course, some regulations are voluntary, and there is no mandatory constraint by international or national policies or laws. Regions, enterprises or individuals voluntarily initiate the performance of environmental responsibilities. After the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, the global carbon market has developed rapidly. The carbon trading volume increased from 65.438+0.6 billion tons in 2006 to 2.7 billion tons in 2007, an increase of 68.75%. The growth of turnover is faster. In 2007, the global carbon market was 40 billion euros, an increase of 865,438+0.8% compared with 22 billion euros in 2006, and the first half of 2008 was even the same as the whole year of 2007.
According to the trading rules, the trading time is the same as the stock market, from 9: 30am to 165438+ 0: 30pm to15: 00pm every Monday to Friday. The transaction is priced at "price per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent", with the minimum change measurement of the declared amount of 1 ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and the minimum change measurement of the declared price of 0.0 1 RMB.
In specific operations, trading is divided into buying and selling, which is basically the same as buying and selling stocks. The carbon quota trading declaration takes effect immediately after it is accepted by the trading system, and it is valid during the trading hours of the day, and the corresponding funds and trading products are locked. The unfinished trading declaration can be revoked. After the transaction is declared in the trading system, the transaction is established. The purchased trading products cannot be sold again on the same day, and the sold funds can be used for the trading on the same day.
It is understood that the carbon emissions of the first batch of enterprises covered by the carbon market exceeded 4 billion tons. This means that once the China carbon emissions trading market is launched, it will become the largest carbon market covering greenhouse gas emissions in the world.