An Overview of the Carbon Emission Standard Management System in China: Weaknesses and a Way Forward

The carbon emission standard is a critical policy instrument for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and plays a pivotal role in the climate policy framework. This study employs content analysis to quantitatively examine China’s standard documents on carbon emissions management from 2012 to 2023. The translation and adaptation of international standards serve as the foundation for China’s carbon emissions management standard system, while the establishment of carbon markets and the pursuit of carbon peak and carbon neutrality objectives have significantly propelled the development of the standard system. In 2012–2023, the number of carbon emissions management standards witnessed a significant surge. China’s current carbon emissions management standards mainly focus on local and group standards, accounting and evaluation standards, and regional/project, product/equipment, and industry standards. These aspects highlight the distinctive characteristics of the system. This study also examines the inherent deficiencies in China’s carbon emissions management standard system, including the following: the absence of technical standards to reduce emissions effectively; redundancies in accounting standards that hinder the establishment of a nationwide unified system; the lack of an evaluation mechanism to assess the quality and effectiveness of standards; and inappropriate incentives solely focused on quantity, leading to a rapid proliferation of standards, among others. Future efforts should be made to improve standard quality and implementation evaluation, streamline the incentive mechanism for standards, and maximize the role of standards in achieving the “dual carbon” goal.