IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i17p10567-d896747.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How to Incorporate Blue Carbon into the China Certified Emission Reductions Scheme: Legal and Policy Perspectives

Author

Listed:
  • Xin-Wei Li

    (School of Law, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China)

  • Hong-Zhi Miao

    (College of Transportation Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China)

Abstract

Blue carbon, the carbon sequestered in vegetated coastal ecosystems, is a potential and practical approach to combating climate change. Many countries have committed to integrating blue carbon into the climate change law and policy framework. As a significant carbon-emitting country, China has abundant blue carbon resources but suffers a significant loss of coastal habitats. Therefore, blue carbon should become a primary focus in China’s climate change law and policy. Given the successful experience in terrestrial biosequestration projects, the inclusion of blue carbon into China’s carbon trading market can be an essential move and is the primary purpose of this paper. The China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER) scheme is an effective supplementary mechanism to the national carbon trading market. To incorporate blue carbon into the CCER scheme, this article first analyzes the legislative framework underpinning the CCER scheme and indicates some critical factors, including methodology, project boundaries, legal rights, additionality, project period, and crediting period. Subsequently, the article discusses these critical factors in depth to identify legal issues that may emerge and provides several feasible solutions. (i) Dedicated methodologies need to be developed for blue carbon projects, which include a broader definition for carbon abatement activities. (ii) The new national marine functional zoning should delineate zones for the purpose of developing blue carbon projects. (iii) The current authorization system for the right to use sea areas could be used to secure a legal right to develop blue carbon projects. (iv) Additionality requirements should be appropriately adjusted. (v) Extended project periods and crediting periods would be needed. This article offers novel pathways for including blue carbon in China’s climate change law and policy framework, thus contributing to achieving its 2060 carbon neutrality goal.

Suggested Citation

  • Xin-Wei Li & Hong-Zhi Miao, 2022. "How to Incorporate Blue Carbon into the China Certified Emission Reductions Scheme: Legal and Policy Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:17:p:10567-:d:896747
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/17/10567/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/17/10567/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas, Sebastian, 2014. "Blue carbon: Knowledge gaps, critical issues, and novel approaches," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 22-38.
    2. Douvere, Fanny, 2008. "The importance of marine spatial planning in advancing ecosystem-based sea use management," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 762-771, September.
    3. Sutton-Grier, Ariana E. & Moore, Amber K. & Wiley, Peter C. & Edwards, Peter E.T., 2014. "Incorporating ecosystem services into the implementation of existing U.S. natural resource management regulations: Operationalizing carbon sequestration and storage," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 246-253.
    4. Douvere, F. & Maes, F. & Vanhulle, A. & Schrijvers, J., 2007. "The role of marine spatial planning in sea use management: The Belgian case," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 182-191, March.
    5. Stelzenmüller, Vanessa & Lee, Janette & South, Andy & Foden, Jo & Rogers, Stuart I., 2013. "Practical tools to support marine spatial planning: A review and some prototype tools," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 214-227.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haiqing Hao & Xue Yang, 2022. "China’s Carbon Market in the Context of Carbon Neutrality: Legal and Policy Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-18, September.
    2. Tuyen PHAM, 2024. "Catalyzing Economic And Environmental Insights: Applications Of Implan'S Environmentally Extended Input-Output (Eeio) Modeling For Energy Production Scenarios," Regional Science Inquiry, Hellenic Association of Regional Scientists, vol. 0(1), pages 99-106, June.
    3. A. A. Romanovskaya, 2023. "Approaches to Implementing Ecosystem Climate Projects in Russia," Regional Research of Russia, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 609-621, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lu, Wen-Hai & Liu, Jie & Xiang, Xian-Quan & Song, Wei-Ling & McIlgorm, Alistair, 2015. "A comparison of marine spatial planning approaches in China: Marine functional zoning and the marine ecological red line," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 94-101.
    2. Kelly, Christina & Gray, Lorraine & Shucksmith, Rachel & Tweddle, Jacqueline F., 2014. "Review and evaluation of marine spatial planning in the Shetland Islands," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 152-160.
    3. Cheng-Chung Cho & Rui-Hsin Kao, 2022. "A Study on Developing Marine Space Planning as a Transboundary Marine Governance Mechanism—The Case of Illegal Sand Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-26, April.
    4. Tammi, Ilpo & Kalliola, Risto, 2014. "Spatial MCDA in marine planning: Experiences from the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 73-83.
    5. Hoagland, P. & Dalton, T.M. & Jin, D. & Dwyer, J.B., 2015. "An approach for analyzing the spatial welfare and distributional effects of ocean wind power siting: The Rhode Island/Massachusetts area of mutual interest," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 51-59.
    6. Shucksmith, Rachel J. & Kelly, Christina, 2014. "Data collection and mapping – Principles, processes and application in marine spatial planning," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(PA), pages 27-33.
    7. Paul A. Sandifer & Ariana E. Sutton‐Grier, 2014. "Connecting stressors, ocean ecosystem services, and human health," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 38(3), pages 157-167, August.
    8. Scarff, Gavin & Fitzsimmons, Clare & Gray, Tim, 2015. "The new mode of marine planning in the UK: Aspirations and challenges," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 96-102.
    9. Qu, Yang & Hooper, Tara & Austen, Melanie C. & Papathanasopoulou, Eleni & Huang, Junling & Yan, Xiaoyu, 2023. "Development of a computable general equilibrium model based on integrated macroeconomic framework for ocean multi-use between offshore wind farms and fishing activities in Scotland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    10. Yuan Liu & Sihai Liu & Kun Xing, 2024. "Assessment of Ecosystem Services and Exploration of Trade-Offs and Synergistic Relationships in Arid Areas: A Case Study of the Kriya River Basin in Xinjiang, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-21, March.
    11. Merrie, Andrew & Olsson, Per, 2014. "An innovation and agency perspective on the emergence and spread of Marine Spatial Planning," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 366-374.
    12. Emilio Salas-Leiton & Ana Costa & Vanessa Neves & Joana Soares & Adriano Bordalo & Sérgia Costa-Dias, 2022. "Sustainability of the Portuguese North-Western Fishing Activity in the Face of the Recently Implemented Maritime Spatial Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, January.
    13. Lauer, Peter & López, Lambertus & Sloan, Emmanuelle & Sloan, Sean & Doroudi, Mehdi, 2015. "Learning from the systematic approach to aquaculture zoning in South Australia: A case study of aquaculture (Zones – Lower Eyre Peninsula) Policy 2013," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 77-84.
    14. Marilena Papageorgiou & Georgia Pozoukidou & Theodora Istoriou & Theoni Kostopoulou, 2024. "Inclusive Maritime Spatial Planning: Stakes at the Regional Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Norton, Daniel & Hynes, Stephen, 2015. "Spatial issues arising from a value transfer exercise for environmental quality of marine waters," 150th Seminar, October 22-23, 2015, Edinburgh, Scotland 212663, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Slater, Anne-Michelle & Irvine, Katherine N & Byg, Anja A. & Davies, Ian M. & Gubbins, Matt & Kafas, Andronikos & Kenter, Jasper & MacDonald, Alison & O'Hara Murray, Rory & Potts, Tavis & Tweddle, Jac, 2020. "Integrating stakeholder knowledge through modular cooperative participatory processes for marine spatial planning outcomes (CORPORATES)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    17. Sebastian Ernst Volkmann & Thomas Kuhn & Felix Lehnen, 2018. "A comprehensive approach for a techno-economic assessment of nodule mining in the deep sea," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 31(3), pages 319-336, October.
    18. Carrelhas, A.A.D. & Gato, L.M.C. & Morais, F.J.F., 2024. "Aerodynamic performance and noise emission of different geometries of Wells turbines under design and off-design conditions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    19. Marianna Cavallo & Alicia Bugeja Said & José A Pérez Agúndez, 2023. "Who Is in and Who Is out in Ocean Economies Development?," Post-Print hal-04044150, HAL.
    20. Liu, Xuehua & Liu, Lin & Peng, Yu, 2017. "Ecological zoning for regional sustainable development using an integrated modeling approach in the Bohai Rim, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 353(C), pages 158-166.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:17:p:10567-:d:896747. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.