Great Wall but Greater Clarity: China Goes Transparent on Emissions.

ayshasathar101
Jul 15
3 min read

In the not-so-distant past, Climate data in China wasn't even discussed. There were no rules for reporting and no legal consequences either.

And the skies grew greyer with the smog, just like their GDP.

But that started to shift.

In 2007, China became the world’s largest carbon emitter and now the pressure was thicker than the smog.

By 2009, at the Copenhagen Climate Summit, China committed to reducing its carbon-intensity emissions by 2020, recognising that climate issues could no longer be sidelined.

By 2013, China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) created GHG accounting and reporting guidelines for 10 industries, using the GHG Protocol’s (GHGP) framework and methodologies created by WRI (World Resources Institute) and WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).

In 2014, the NDRC mandated GHG reporting for over 20,000 companies and organizations, all of which were required to measure and manage their emissions based on the GHG Protocol guidelines.

Then in 2015, A documentary called "Under the Dome" shook the nation.

Chai Jing in front of a screen with a picture of a six-year-old girl she interviewed, who had never seen a star or white clouds.

"There were 175 polluted days-meaning half the year, I had to keep her like a prisoner inside our home"- Chai Jing, Under the Dome (2015).

The narrator is Chai Jing, a television reporter and a mother. She starts the video by discussing environmental issues in Beijing in 2013.

But then it becomes very personal when she talks about how she gave birth to a daughter and the little girl had health problems related to air pollution.

Being a television reporter, she wanted to understand what happened to her child and what was happening in China.

She learned about localised smog, i.e., polluted air, which contributed to nationwide problems of cancer, polluted rivers, and issues with coal mining.

And tells us about raising children when pollution is too high for going outdoors, but as a reporter, she visits the sources and exposes the reality.

Scholars have noted that "Under the Dome" marks a significant moment in China’s environmental disclosure. Wang and He (2017) describe it as a "turning point in Chinese environmental communication," arguing that it bridged the gap between investigative journalism and popular mobilisation before being censored.

Immediately following the documentary's release, on March 2, 2015, Stocks rose by up to 10% as investors expected the government to boost its spending on environmental treatments and green technologies.

Aiming for greater climate action, In 2017, China launched a carbon market, starting with the power sector. Companies had to track and report emissions if they wanted to trade carbon credits.

This created a stronger push for real data, especially for Scope 1 (direct) and Scope 2 (energy-related) emissions.

In September 2020, president Xi Jinping proposed the goal to achieve “peak carbon” emission by 2030 and become “carbon neutral” by 2060.

This is the first time China has made clear policy statements and declared a timeline for action on carbon neutrality to the world.

Finally, By 2024, China made it mandatory for high-emitting companies to disclose their Scope 1 and 2 emissions officially, publicly and with third-party checks.

The companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange 180 or the STAR 50 index fall under the mandatory disclosure rules.

And what about Scope 3?(emissions from supply chains, packaging, and transport)

It’s still not mandatory, but it’s highly encouraged, especially for large exporters and listed companies.

But China’s stock exchanges and green finance platforms are starting to ask for it, and companies that want to trade internationally are under pressure to include Scope 3 too.

Recently in July 2025, In Jinan, China, a huge inflatable dome has been built over a construction site to reduce pollution. The dome, about 50 metres tall and covering 20,000 square metres, is made from strong but light material. It helps stop dust from spreading into nearby areas and cuts down loud construction noise. People living close by have already noticed cleaner air and less disturbance.

This step is part of a larger push for greener, cleaner building methods in busy cities.