China to launch national cap-and-trade plan in 2017, US announces

China, the world’s biggest carbon polluter, will launch a national cap-and-trade scheme in 2017, the White House said on Thursday. The move, announced on the eve of a summit in Washington between Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, would make China the world’s biggest carbon market, overtaking the European Union, and could strengthen global efforts to put a price on carbon. White House officials said the cap-and-trade plan would be formally announced on Friday along with a “very substantial financial commitment” from China to help the world’s poorest countries fight climate change. The US has already pledged $3bn to a Green Climate Fund for poor countries. Read more