- Total emissions in 2020 stood at 9.9 billion tonnes
- Steel, power and cement key sectors in the energy transition
Recently ‘China’s Listed Companies Carbon Emissions Ranking (2021)’ was released in Beijing. The list contains 100 listed companies with total carbon dioxide emissions of 4.424 billion tonnes (bn t), accounting for about 44.7% of the national total. According to reports, China’s total carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 stood at about 9.9 bn t.
Leading steelmakers such as Baosteel, Hegang, Anshan Iron and Steel, Valin, Maanshan Iron and Steel, Shougang, Baotou Iron and Steel, Shandong Iron and Steel, Liuzhou Iron and Steel, CITIC Special Steel, Benxi Iron and Steel, Nanjing Iron and Steel, Sangang, Taiyuan Iron and Steel, Jiuquan Iron and Steel, Xingang, Shaoshan Iron and Steel, Linggang, Fangda Special Steel and Shagang are on the list.
Emissions: Volume & Intensity
The top ten companies in terms of total carbon emissions all emit more than 100 mn t, accounting for 46% of the total emissions of 100 companies. These are electric power, building materials, petrochemical, and coal industries. The emissions intensity of electricity and cement is much higher than that of other industries.
The companies are enlisted on the basis of ‘total emissions’ and ‘intensity of emissions’. The total list is ranked according to the total amount of direct and indirect carbon dioxide emitted by listed companies in 2020, from the largest to smallest. The intensity list is ranked from the largest to smallest according to carbon dioxide emissions generated by listed companies per RMB 10,000 of revenue.
The list covers 100 high-emission companies listed on A-shares and Hong Kong stocks, distributed in eight key energy-intensive industries –petrochemicals, chemicals, building materials, steel, nonferrous metals, papermaking, electric power, and aviation.
In terms of data sources, the list first refers to the carbon dioxide emissions disclosed by the companies themselves. For the 53 companies that have not actively disclosed, the list uses key information such as output and energy consumption disclosed by the companies, and estimates are made with reference to the accounting guidelines issued by the government.
The 100 listed companies on the list play an important role in China’s carbon reduction. Out of 9.9 bn t, the total quantum of emissions of the 100 companies is 4.424 bn t, accounting for about 44.7% of the national total.
In terms of total emissions, the top 10 companies all emitted more than 100 mn t in 2020. The total emissions of enterprises are affected by the characteristics of the industry but are also closely related to the scale of their operations.
The emission intensity of electricity and cement is much higher than that of other industries. Almost all of the top 30 companies in terms of carbon emission intensity come from the power and cement industries, while the top 10 are almost taken over by the power industry. Most of the emissions of coal companies come from their power generation business.
Although the emissions of the steel industry are relatively high, the intensity is small.
Three key industries
According to World Resources Institute, emissions from the power generation and heating industries account for about 41.6% of China’s total carbon emissions. Only when the power industry is clean can downstream industries be truly low-carbon. The realisation of this goal will trigger an energy revolution.
According to the ‘Report on Energy-saving and Low-Carbon Development of China’s Iron and Steel Industry (2020)’, the iron and steel industry accounts for about 15% of China’s total carbon emissions, ranking first among all domestic industrial industries.
The survey report of Digital Cement Network shows that in 2020, the carbon dioxide emitted by the cement industry will account for about 13% of China’s total emissions. It is second only to steel in the industrial category.
On July 16, 2021, the national carbon market was officially launched, and 2,162 electric power companies were included. Petrochemicals, chemicals, building materials (including cement), steel, nonferrous metals, papermaking, and aviation will also be included in the trading system.
Emissions data disclosure
The performance of listed companies in terms of low carbon has increasingly become an important decision-making factor, and the public has higher expectations for the disclosure of their own carbon emissions data by listed companies. However, not many companies are willing to proactively disclose data.
Calculated on the current carbon price of about RMB 50/t in the national carbon market, for every 10,000 t of carbon emission rights a company purchases, an additional cost of RMB 500,000 will be added. Listed companies bear more disclosure obligations.
At present, the level of disclosure of carbon emissions of listed companies varies. Especially in the A-share market, few companies actively disclose relevant data. Of the 51 A-share listed companies on the list, only four have voluntarily disclosed. As the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has stricter requirements for companies to prepare ESG reports, the disclosure of Hong Kong-listed companies is significantly better than that of A-shares.
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