On January 6, 2025, an official press conference was held by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) to further elaborate the Working Guidelines of Formulating Standards on Product Carbon Footprint Accounting (hereinafter referred to as “the Working Guidelines”) issued earlier the MEE, together with 4 other national ministries.

 The key takeaways from the Guidelines and the details highlighted during the press conference include:

Setting Quantitative Goals

·         By 2027, develop and introduce approximately 100 carbon footprint accounting rules and standards for key products.

·         By 2030, this number will increase to 200, ensuring comprehensive coverage of critical product categories.

Unifying Existing and Future Standard Systems

·         Establish clear and consistent standards for naming, scope, activity data acquisition requirements, and factor data quality requirements, as well as methodologies for formulation.

·         Ensure all technical requirements in accounting standards align with the existing national standard GB/T 24067-2024 (Greenhouse Gases—Carbon Footprint of Products—Requirements and Guidelines for Quantification).

Defining Roles for Different Standard Types

·         National Standards: Serve as the foundation and primary category for carbon footprint accounting, focusing on widely used and significant product categories.

·         Sector Standards: Encouraged for segmented products with limited industry correlation, low intersectionality, and specific applications, while avoiding overlap with national standards.

·         Regional Standards: Reserved for products with strong regional characteristics and not applicable to product types already covered by national or sector standards.

·         Association Standards: Promoted for emerging sectors, with mechanisms optimized to facilitate their adoption into national standards, thereby maximizing their impact.

Establishing Priorities

·         Priority will be given to developing carbon footprint accounting standards for foundational sectors, including energy, raw materials, transportation, and key foreign trade products.

Promoting International Alignment and Cooperation

·         Encourage Technical Committees (TCs) to adopt relevant international standards for accounting and factor data.

·         Actively participate in international standard formulation efforts.

·         Strengthen international communication and cooperation on carbon footprint standardization to enhance global alignment.

Under the commitment of achieving carbon peak in 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060, China is gradually improving its product carbon footprint accounting and management system and has issued a number of national standards and guidelines together with quite some actions plans or requirements. Some industries have launched pilot projects to promote enterprise emission reduction and green transition, but there is still a gap with the international advanced level, and the existing standard system and relevant rules are not totally consistent, nor can they be smoothly implemented in practice by stakeholders. The lately issuing documents will help integrating current elements and factors for stakeholders. It is also expected that such actions will provide a clarified and unified process and approach for manufacturers for practical use.

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