Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Work Related to the National Carbon Emission Trading Market in 2026 (hereinafter referred to as the Notice). It has comprehensively deployed the administration of the national carbon market in 2026, aiming to ensure the sound, stable and orderly operation of the market. The Notice clarifies the specific arrangements and timelines for core tasks concerning the four key industries of power generation, iron and steel, cement, and aluminum smelting, including the formulation of the list of key emission units, data quality management, allowance allocation and settlement.

In accordance with the requirements of the Notice, provincial ecological and environmental authorities shall formulate the list of key emission units for 2027 in their respective administrative regions. Entities in the power generation, iron and steel, cement, and aluminum smelting industries with annual direct emissions of 26,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more shall be included in the administration of the national carbon market. The list must be released to the public via the national carbon market administration platform and official websites by 31 October 2026.

On data quality management, the Notice puts forward five specific requirements. 1. Organize key emission units to formulate the 2027 annual data quality control plan by 31 December 2026. 2. Require key emission units to complete the monthly electronic filing of carbon emission statistics and accounting data within 40 calendar days after the end of each month. 3. Organize key emission units to submit the 2025 annual greenhouse gas emission report by 31 March 2026. 4. Complete the verification and result notification of the 2025 annual emission reports of key emission units in the power generation industry by 30 June 2026, and in the iron and steel, cement, and aluminum smelting industries by 31 July 2026 respectively. 5. Complete the assessment of the work quality of verification technical service institutions and disclose the results by 30 November 2026.

On allowance allocation and settlement management, the Notice specifies a phased approach. For the preliminary allowance allocation, the preliminary allocation of 2025 allowances for key emission units in iron and steel, cement, and aluminum smelting shall be completed by 10 April 2026, and for the power generation industry by 30 June 2026. The verification and formal allocation of allowances shall be finished by 30 September 2026. All key emission units must complete the full settlement of 2025 annual carbon emission allowances by 31 December 2026.

The Notice also sets requirements for greenhouse gas emission management of enterprises in other key industries. Enterprises in petroleum refining, chemicals, building materials (flat glass), non-ferrous metals (copper smelting), papermaking, civil aviation, as well as some iron and steel and cement enterprises not yet included in the national carbon market, shall be covered in the 2025 annual emission report administration if their annual greenhouse gas emissions reach 26,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Among them, companies in the six industries including petroleum refining shall submit emission reports by 31 March 2026 and complete report verification by 31 December 2026. Iron and steel and cement companies not yet included in the carbon market shall submit reports by 31 March 2026 and complete verification by 31 July 2026.

Finally, the Notice emphasizes that ecological and environmental authorities at all levels shall strengthen coordination and leadership, capacity building, supervision and law enforcement, severely crack down on fraudulent acts in carbon emission data, and ensure the high-quality completion of all work.