China to launch carbon emissions trading scheme next month Afp, Beijing Afp, Beijing China's delayed carbon trading system will start operating in February, the environment ministry has said, as the world's biggest polluter takes steps towards decarbonising its economy by 2060.The ministry issued rules on Tuesday allowing provincial governments to set pollution caps for big power businesses for the first time. Firms can buy the right to pollute from others who have a lower carbon footprint, but the programme is expected to drive down overall emissions by making it more costly to do so. "This is one of the most exciting developments for the world's largest carbon market in the recent rollercoaster year," said Zhang Jianyu, vice president of the Environmental Defense Fund China, which has consulted with the government on emissions trading.