Regional Cooperation on Carbon Markets in East Asia

The People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea have launched individual emission trading schemes to control greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. This paper reviews key carbon market design elements in the three countries in terms of emission allowances, covered sectors, allowance allocations, monitoring, reporting and verification, compliance and penalties, and offset markets. We assess the performances of the emission trading schemes among the three countries based on secondary-market allowance transactions. Considering heterogeneous climate policy designs in the region, we explore various approaches for the linkage of East Asian carbon markets. Cooperation on carbon markets is instrumental for regional and global climate governance. It could not only help achieve cost-effective emission reductions in the region, but also signal the commitment of the three countries to climate change mitigation.