China’s Carbon Emissions Trading Market: Current Situation, Impact Assessment, Challenges, and Suggestions

As the world’s largest developing and carbon-emitting country, China is accelerating its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction process, and it is of vital importance in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. This paper examines the historical development and current operation of China’s carbon emissions trading market (CETM). The current progress of research on the implementation of carbon emissions trading policy (CETP) is described in four dimensions: environment, economy, innovation, and society. The results show that CETP generates clear environmental and social benefits but exhibits mixed economic and innovation effects. Furthermore, this paper analyses the challenges of China’s carbon market, including the green paradox, the low carbon price, the imperfections in cap setting and allocation of allowances, the small scope of coverage, and the weakness of the legal supervision system. Ultimately, this paper proposes recommendations for fostering China’s CETM with the anticipation of offering a comprehensive outlook for future research.