China’s environment ministry slams firms for falsifying carbon data

Charges include ‘tampering with and forging test reports’, ‘making false coal samples’, and ‘writing distorted and inaccurate conclusions’

The country’s emissions trading scheme launched last year, but transparency and accuracy of data remain a big concern for Beijing and market participants

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China is preparing to expand its emissions trading scheme into more industrial sectors, including steelmaking. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:40pm, 14 Mar 2022Updated: 5:23pm, 15 Mar 2022

Corrected [5:19pm, 15 Mar, 2022]

[5:19pm, 15 Mar, 2022]
An earlier version of this story misidentified Zhongtan Nengtou Tech Co. The story has also been amended to clarify the government charges applied to each company.

China’s environment ministry has slammed firms for falsifying carbon data, part of the country’s efforts to improve data quality as it prepares to expand its national emissions trading scheme into more industrial sectors.

The findings published on Monday follow a campaign launched by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in October-December last year aimed at ascertaining the accuracy of carbon emission verification reports submitted across the country.

“Accurate and reliable data is the lifeline for the effective and standardised operation of the carbon emissions trading market,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.

China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, put its repeatedly delayed national emissions trading scheme (ETS) into operation in July last year. But the transparency and accuracy of emissions data remain a big concern for Beijing as well as the market’s participants.

Data verification firm Zhongtan Nengtou Tech Co was charged with “making false coal samples” and “tampering with and forging test reports”, the ministry said. A second firm, Liaoning Dongmei Testing and Analysis Research Institute, was also charged with tampering with test reports.

Two other companies, SinoCarbon Innovation & Investment Co and Qingdao Xinuo Renewable Co, were separately charged with “writing distorted and inaccurate conclusions”, the ministry said.