China's securities regulator is mulling emissions trading futures to boost green development.

It can help the country fulfill its promise to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, said Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, on Saturday.

China has piloted emissions trading in seven provinces and cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, since 2011 to explore market-based mechanisms to control greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the World Bank, there are two types of carbon pricing: emissions trading systems (ETS) and carbon taxes. Sometimes referred to as a cap-and-trade system, ETS caps the total greenhouse gas emissions level. However, it then allows those industries with low emissions to sell their extra allowances to larger emitters.

(Cover image: Water vapor discharged from the Liangshui Tower in the Jiangbei Industrial Zone, Jilin City, Jilin Province, China November 28, 2020. /VCG)