Reuters reported that China is considering plans to cap the greenhouse gas emissions of steel, cement and other industries, paving the way for carbon credit trading in the world biggest emitter.

The comments from Mr Sun Zhen a climate official at the National Development and Reform Commission, add to recent signs that Beijing is seriously exploring absolute caps on some high polluting sectors which would then allow businesses to trade on the right to emit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels and making cement.

He said that "Throughout the country and we have adopted a plan for reducing releases of carbon. He added that but when it comes to actually reducing the emissions of certain businesses and that calls for limiting the absolute quantity of emissions."

Mr Sun said "Setting limits on the absolute amounts of carbon that can be emitted will make it possible to carry out trades of emissions credits."

He did not indicate any time when such a scheme would be launched, but the report said it was likely to target steel and cement makers and carbon credit trading could also take root in manufacturing hubs such as the Pearl River delta region near Hong Kong and the Yangtze River delta near Shanghai.

Other Chinese officials have recently floated similar ideas.

Mr Xie Zhenhua a vice minister at the National Development and Reform Commission who steers climate change policy said last month that China will pilot a carbon trading scheme and gradually build a market for emissions trading.

An official from the NDRC said in April that China would pilot six emissions trading schemes by 2013 and set up a national trading platform by 2015.

China is studying how industry wide emission targets could be implemented in its electricity sector which relies heavily on coal, the biggest source of carbon dioxide pollution that is intensifying global warming and threatening to dangerously disturb the climate.

(Sourced from Reuters)