China National ETS Expansion to Steel, Cement and Aluminium (2025)

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment work plan, approved by the State Council and issued in March 2025, brought steel, cement and aluminium smelting into China’s national emissions trading system. It is the first operational expansion beyond the power sector and introduces sector-specific greenhouse-gas accounting, reporting, verification, allocation and compliance arrangements. The start-up phase covers 2024-2026, followed by a deepening phase from 2027. The policy creates an indirect carbon-price and MRV driver for industrial decarbonisation, including potential CCUS investment, but it does not establish a CCUS offset methodology or guarantee that captured and stored CO2 generates tradable credits.