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FACTBOX-Global schemes put a price on carbon emissions

by Reuters
Wednesday, 25 November 2020 07:25 GMT

The coal power plant of Grosskrotzenburg is pictured as the sun rises early morning near Hanau, Germany, October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

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About 22% of global emissions are covered by a current of planned carbon pricing scheme. Here are some of the biggest

(Corrects the location of China pilot scheme to Hubei (not Hunan), paragraph 5)

* Main story on rise of carbon pricing:

* TIMELINE-Brief history of Europe's trading system

By Susanna Twidale

LONDON, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Faced with the challenge of converting pledges to slash planet-warming emissions into policies, some of the world's biggest economies are turning to the same tool: a carbon price.

Globally, about 22% of global emissions are covered by the 46 national and 32 sub-national carbon pricing schemes operating today or in the planning stage, according to the World Bank.

Carbon pricing can come in the form of a tax or under a an emissions-trading, or cap-and-trade, scheme where companies or countries face a carbon limit

Below are some of the major carbon emissions trading systems (ETS) around the world.

CHINA

A national ETS could be launched in 2021 following pilot schemes in provinces and cities including Beijing, Chongqing, Guangdong, Hubei, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tianjin. They cover energy production and various energy-intensive industries.

EUROPEAN UNION

The world's largest ETS, which started out 15 years ago, is mandatory for all 27 EU members, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, covering power plants, aviation, energy intensive industries.

KAZAKHSTAN

Its scheme, started in 2013. It was suspended 2016 and relaunched in 2018 after under going reforms. It covers the energy sector, mining and chemical industries.

MEXICO

A three-year pilot scheme was launched in 2020 covering the power, oil and gas, and industrial sectors.

NEW ZEALAND

Its ETS, which began in 2008, covers electricity generators, manufacturers liquid fossil fuels including petrol and diesel. Some forest owners are given free permits, others can voluntarily join the scheme.

QUEBEC

Scheme was launched in 2012 and covers electricity, energy intensive industrials.

SOUTH KOREA

ETS started in 2015. It covers around 600 of the biggest emitters, collectively responsible for almost 70% of the country's annual emissions.

UNITED STATES

The United States does not have a national ETS, but many regions and states use carbon pricing, such as California and states covered by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) - Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Sources: World Bank Group, International Carbon Action Partnership

(Reporting By Susanna Twidale; Editing by Pravin Char)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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