- Nearly all major firms and most adults in the city now covered by the system
- Low-carbon behavior increasingly tied to loans, incentives and industrial policy
Quzhou, a city in Zhejiang Province, has opened nearly 2.4 million carbon accounts since implementing China’s first dedicated regulation governing carbon-account systems earlier this month, local media reported.
The rollout comes as local governments across China actively experiment with turning emissions data into a formal economic management tool.
The Regulation on the Construction and Application of Carbon Accounts in Quzhou took effect on May 1, marking what local officials describe as a shift in China’s “Dual Carbon” strategy from policy guidance toward institutional enforcement.
Under the system, carbon accounts function like digital ledgers for emissions generated by companies and individuals.
Using IoT sensors and big-data systems, the platform records activities ranging from public transport usage to factory energy consumption.
So far, carbon-account coverage has reached 100% among major industrial companies in Quzhou and 95% among residents above the age of 18, according to local authorities.
The data is increasingly being tied to financial incentives. Quzhou has launched 46 carbon-linked financial products, while outstanding carbon-account-related loans have surpassed 120 billion yuan ($17.64 billion).
Low-carbon companies can receive up to 1.5 times higher lending quotas.
In Quzhou, more than 460 companies have phased out outdated production capacity through the program, generating combined savings and efficiency gains worth 1.6 billion yuan, officials said.
Quzhou has added hundreds of pure-electric taxis, generating emissions reductions that can be converted into carbon credits.
The city also plans to launch an app allowing taxi operators to use those credits to offset service fees through Quzhou’s carbon-account system.
On the consumer side, more than 1.6 million residents have received carbon-related incentives, while individual accounts have collectively recorded emissions reductions exceeding 60,000 tons.
Local media reports didn’t specify what the carbon incentives are, though.
“What used to be invisible carbon emissions can now be recorded, tracked and managed like deposits in a bank account,” Liu Hongfei, deputy director of Quzhou’s development and reform commission, said.
The city began experimenting with carbon accounts in 2017 before expanding the system citywide in 2021.
Local officials say Quzhou’s carbon-account model has been presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference for three consecutive years, showcasing Chinese wisdom in tackling carbon emissions.
With the regulation now in force, carbon accounts are shifting from a voluntary incentive mechanism into a formal governance framework.
Local policymakers increasingly view carbon quotas as a strategic resource that could eventually become as important as land, capital or energy access in determining future industrial growth.
