On June 26, 2026, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) publicized the drafts of Methodology for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects – forestation carbon sink (CCER-14-001-V01), and Methodology for voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction projects – mangrove afforestation (CCER-14-002-V01) (hereinafter referred to as “the Two Methodologies”) to call for public comments, and the deadline for submitting feedback has ended on July 7, 2026.

These Two Methodologies are important supportive documents for the Administrative Measures for Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading of China (Interim) (hereinafter referred to as “the Administrative Measures”), which were issued by MEE on October 19, 2023, effective immediately upon issuance. It establishes the overarching structure and enforcement protocols for voluntary emission reduction activities across China, formalizing the full project lifecycle from design to credit generation. By delineating clear responsibilities for regulatory bodies and prescribing expected conduct for market participants, the Measures reinstate the national Chinese Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) mechanism, a key market-based instrument that had been dormant since 2017. The rules apply broadly to any legally established entity or individual within China’s territory, allowing them to register voluntary mitigation projects and the resulting reductions, provided they satisfy the stipulated eligibility requirements. Under the new regime, the MEE retains primary authority over the voluntary carbon trading market of China and the centralized registration system, while a dedicated registration agency, and has developed supplementary technical specifications and manage routine operations.

Oversight is shared between national and regional MEE offices, and all verification and validation work must be carried out by accredited third-party bodies under joint supervision of the MEE and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). In practice, project proponents must submit design documents for a mandatory 20‑working‑day public review on the registration platform, followed by independent third‑party validation prior to project listing. All credited emission reductions must be measurable, traceable, and subject to ex‑post verification, with the applying vintage limited to a five‑year window before the application date. The Measures also codify explicit penalties for noncompliance, covering obstruction of supervision, submission of falsified materials, and certification bodies that exceed their scope or issue fraudulent reports, reinforcing the government’s commitment to integrity and transparency in the voluntary carbon market.

Regarding the drafts of the Two Methodologies, the core principles for this round of revision are to reduce implementation complexity, enhance project benefits, and improve development efficiency, and specifically:

- For the one on forestation carbon sink, the revision aims at optimizing emission reduction calculation methods, simplifying on-site monitoring requirements, and enhancing the practicality of default parameters.

- For the one on mangrove afforestation, the purpose is to clarify the method for proving the ownership of emission reduction benefits, optimize project eligibility criteria, simplify the calculation process for emission reductions, and enhance the practicality of default parameters.

Foreign stakeholders are advised to notice that, the country will strengthen its carbon market and carbon emission control in the 15^th Five-year Plan period, and CCER may play more and more important role in the governance system, and more methodologies may be issued in this five-year period that would cover new sectors.