How an enhanced cap-and-trade system can help the world's top carbon emitter cut emissions and improve air quality

For the past 30 years, China has tapped coal for about two-thirds of its energy needs, resulting in carbon dioxide and particulate emissions that have significantly degraded the nation's air quality and impacted the global climate. In an effort to address both concerns and provide a backup fuel for intermittent renewables, China is working to increasingly replace coal with cleaner-burning natural gas. As a first step, the government aims to boost the share of natural gas in its primary energy su