A total of 580,000 tons of carbon emission quotas were sold for 25.26 million yuan (US$3.74 million) at an auction organized by the city’s ecology environment bureau Friday, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
According to notices issued by the bureau, 97% of Shenzhen’s carbon emission quotas for the year 2021 were distributed to enterprises free of charge, while the remaining 3% were allocated through an auction.
The total number of quotas open for the bidding was roughly 580,000 tons, with the bidding base price standing at 29.64 yuan per ton. According to statistics, a total of 123 institutions participated in the bidding, with a total declared volume of 2.49 million tons.
It is reported that the amount of subscription exceeded the total amount of quotas available within 10 minutes after the bidding started. Within 20 minutes, the amount of subscription exceeded 1 million tons with fierce price competition.
Twenty-six institutions made successful bids with an average transaction price of 43.49 yuan per ton. The maximum transaction price reached 100 yuan per ton, while the minimum transaction price was 42 yuan per ton.
According to the bureau, the paid allocation of carbon emission quotas drew upon the experiences of the international advanced carbon trading market and was an attempt to explore the possibility of coordinated development within the international carbon trading system.