On 16 Feb. 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Opinions on Providing Judicial Services for Actively and Steadily Promoting Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality by Fully, Accurately and Comprehensively Implementing the New Development Concept” (關于完整準確全面貫徹新發展理念 為積極穩妥推進碳達峰碳中和提供司法服務的意見).
According to the SPC in this judicial policy:
- Chinese courts will focus on cases related to energy conservation and emission reduction, low-carbon technology, carbon trading, and sustainable finance.
- Chinese courts will focus on cases of ecological and environmental infringement disputes over greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the infringers are entitled to voluntarily purchase China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) and write it off in the Carbon Emission Trading Market or buy other carbon sink products to offset the loss of carbon sink.
- Chinese courts will focus on cases over carbon emission quotas and CCER trading disputes and support concluding trade contracts of carbon emissions, carbon emission quota, CCER, etc.
Cover Photo by Jillian Luo on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
