China increased trading in quotas on its carbon market by 24% y/y in 2025

China’s national carbon emissions trading volume in 2025 amounted to 235 million tonnes, which is 24% more than in 2024. This is evidenced by data from the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE), according to Mysteel Global.

This significant growth is mainly due to the inclusion of three high-emission sectors – steel, cement and aluminium – in the national emissions trading market in March last year. Thanks to this step, carbon emissions coverage reached approximately 60% of the country’s total emissions.

According to the MEE, a total of 3,378 major emission sources were included in the carbon market quota management last year, including 232 from the steel sector and 97 from the aluminium smelting sector.

The carbon market turnover in 2025, according to the ministry, amounted to 14.63 billion yuan (about $2.08 billion).

The national voluntary emissions trading market also showed steady progress – by the end of December last year, 33 voluntary emissions reduction projects had been registered, which provided for a reduction of more than 17.76 million tonnes. The volume of trading in certified voluntary emission reductions in 2025 reached almost 9.22 million tonnes.

China officially launched its national carbon emissions trading market in July 2021.

At the end of last year, China completed the construction of its first near-zero carbon steel production line with a capacity of 1 million tonnes in Zhanjiang (Guangdong Province).