European Chamber Representatives Meet Jiang Zhaoli, Deputy DG of Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
2024-07-23 | Beijing
On 23rd July 2024, a European Chamber delegation led by Mr Zhonghua Xu, Chair of Carbon Market Working Group; Ms June Zhang, Chair of Standards & Conformity Assessment (SCA) Working Group; and Ms Sarah Yu, Vice Chair of Environment Working Group met with Mr Jiang Zhaoli, Deputy Director-General (DDG) of Department of Climate Change, Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) to discuss the Implementation Plan for Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System.
The Plan was released by the MEE and 14 other departments in May 2024. It includes establishing calculation rules and standards for 100 key products by 2027, for 200 products by 2030; setting up an institutional system for product carbon footprint labeling, authentication, and tiered management; refining and applying carbon footprint management in more diverse scenarios; and developing local pilot programmes and policies to encourage the use of lower-emissions products, among others.
DDG Jiang gave a presentation on the background of the Plan and suggested how European companies in China can get involved in the construction of the national carbon footprint management system. Carbon footprint can play an important role in integrating the cost of carbon into the eco-design of downstream products. The MEE plans to publish a batch of carbon footprints of raw material products (such as coke, iron, crude steel, and natural gas) that could be referred by various industries. However, the regional electricity emission factors vary by provinces. Commissioned by the State Council to lead the carbon footprint management, the MEE welcomes European companies to join the following work:
- Comment on draft standards and policies;
- Work more actively in carbon-related information disclosure;
- Develop company/association product carbon footprint standards and compete for conversion to industry standards and national standards;
- Carry out carbon emission factor calculations and introduce European and international practices and experiences.
The Chamber delegation thanked DDG Jiang for his presentation and looked forward to great involvement of European companies in the development of China’s carbon footprint system. Multinational companies need to fully understand all local markets to improve global supply chain management and would welcome policies with more transparency and certainty. The European Chamber is happy to establish a communication mechanism with the MEE and share best practices of European companies.
For more details about the meeting, please follow the European Chamber's Carbon Market Working Group, Standards & Conformity Assessment (SCA) Working Group or Environment Working Group.