In February 2023, the Center for Environmental Education and Communications, a research institution overseen by China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment, released this report reviewing how personal carbon accounts are developed and innovated in China. The center co-authored the report with Beijing Green Inclusive Network Technology Co., Ltd, with the support of Energy Foundation China.

The report first introduces the concept of personal carbon accounts, including their definition, background, significance, and history, before it summaries research and policies in this field, as well as the role personal carbon accounts can play in reducing emissions, standards for them, and potential trading and other innovative mechanisms related to them. The report also elaborates and analyzes carbon account efforts driven by Chinese cities and province, plus more than a dozen cases from enterprises and financial institutions. It concludes with suggestions about what actions can be taken to bring the efforts to the next level.

Through this comprehensive review of how personal carbon accounts evolve in China, the authors hope the findings of the report can facilitate their sustainable development, especially in terms of how to standardize personal carbon accounts, use them across platforms, and optimize them in a systematic manner.