Many CDM projects and carbon transactions have taken place in China since 2005, but some recent developments in the legal framework and the market place may turn a new page in China’s participation to mitigate climate change.
The newly unveiled Tianjin Climate Exchange is one of the most important highlights of the recent development. The Exchange, co-founded by US-based Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), will offer auctions of registered and issued certified emission reduction (CER).
The establishment of the Exchange itself has been beneficial to local firms, as a King & Wood team led by Beijing partner Yang Xiaolei was hired by another co-founder CNPC Assets Management to represent them in this joint venture while Tianjin firm Winners led by managing partner Li Haibo has provided legal advices to Tianjin government departments.
Law firms increasingly find CDM projects and carbon trading to be a lucrative source of revenues.
“It’s a new market and a new opportunity for lawyers. We expect to see a large volume of emissions trading work in the long term,” said Li Haibo of Tianjin Winners.
“Many clients have realised that emissions trading is an opportunity to generate income, but they need to be more familiar with how it works, potential risks and the international rules,” said Liu Wei, executive partner of Grandall Legal Group in Shanghai, who has advised on the high-profile CDM agreement between Shandong Dongyue and Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi. “And there’s a lot of major work yet to de done in terms of designing and implementing the domestic emission trading scheme.”