Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment released the National Carbon Market Development Report (2026). The report notes that the green fuel preparation industry, represented by hydrogen energy, has become an important direction for building a new-type energy system and achieving source-level decarbonization in the energy sector during China's "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
Green hydrogen CCER methodology released; hydrogen production expected to reach 5 million mt by 2030
In December 2025, China's first national methodology for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in the hydrogen energy sector, Methodology for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Projects – Hydrogen Production from Renewable Energy Water Electrolysis, was released. By May 2026, voluntary emission reduction projects of the renewable energy water electrolysis hydrogen production type had been submitted for public disclosure.
The report expects that by 2030, hydrogen production from renewable energy is expected to reach 5 million mt, with annual emission reductions of 60 million mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). While encouraging the release of green hydrogen capacity, promoting the non-electricity utilization and consumption of new energy by downstream industries is of great significance for controlling deep decarbonization in steel, chemicals, transportation, and other sectors, and for advancing the "dual carbon" goals.
Carbon market incentivizes large-scale application of green and low-carbon technologies
The national carbon emissions trading market encourages enterprises with advanced green and low-carbon technologies to produce more, providing greater flexibility and autonomy for enterprises to reduce emissions. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, enterprises covered by the national carbon emissions trading market continued to increase investment in advanced clean and efficient power generation technologies, shutting down and phasing out approximately 200 small, outdated units over the past three years, reducing enterprise carbon costs by approximately 1.095 billion yuan.
The national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market provides clear return expectations, lowers the initial application costs of green and low-carbon technologies, and effectively incentivizes the development of advanced low-carbon technologies and related emission reduction projects such as grid-connected solar thermal power generation, grid-connected offshore wind power generation, hydrogen production from renewable energy water electrolysis, recovery of low-concentration coal mine gas, and medium-deep geothermal heating, accelerating the iterative promotion and large-scale application of technologies.
Report systematically summarizes carbon market development progress
The National Carbon Market Development Report (2026) was officially released on September 15 at the "2026 China Carbon Market Conference." The report systematically summarizes the latest development progress of the national carbon emissions trading market and the national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market, comprehensively demonstrates the effectiveness of market construction and operation, and looks ahead to the future development direction of the national carbon market. It is the latest progress report on the national carbon market released by the Ministry of Ecology Environment following the National Carbon Market Development Report (2025) in 2025.
