Carbon peak and carbon neutrality finally have a unified ruler. On June 1, 2026, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, and five other departments jointly issued the "Guidelines for Non Fossil Energy Electricity Consumption Accounting (Trial)", which was officially put on the internet. This is China's first nationally unified accounting rule for non fossil energy electricity consumption, directly serving the dual control system of total carbon emissions and intensity during the 15th Five Year Plan period.

For a long time, the accounting rules for non fossil energy electricity consumption have been inconsistent and the coverage is insufficient. At the provincial level, it mainly relies on electricity trading, and there is a lack of unified methods for cities and users. Green electricity and green certificates have also not been effectively linked with carbon emission accounting. The guide will crack this one by one: in terms of classification recognition, it clarifies three methods: physical recognition, transaction recognition, and allocation recognition; In terms of hierarchical accounting, provide three-level accounting methods for provincial, municipal, and power user levels respectively; At the same time, a transaction recognition upper limit shall be set, with the provincial level not exceeding the scale after deducting the corresponding fossil energy trading electricity from the received electricity, and the city level not exceeding the total off grid electricity of users.

The biggest institutional breakthrough of the guidelines is the conditional recognition of green certificates in accounting. Zhang Yiguo, Vice President of the Water Resources Planning and Design Institute, pointed out that at the provincial level, electricity trading is the basis, while at the municipal and user levels, green certificates and green electricity trading are the basis. This does not overturn the current statistical methods, nor does it significantly affect the indirect carbon emissions pattern of electricity between provinces. At the same time, it encourages users to achieve green electricity consumption by purchasing green certificates. Jin Yanming, a researcher at State Grid Energy Research Institute, believes that this will expand the application scenarios of green electricity and green certificates. New energy entities that are not included in the mechanism of electricity consumption can obtain additional income by selling green certificates. The physical identification method will also promote the development of new formats such as direct connection of green electricity.

The rule design reflects a clear progressive approach: currently accounting annually, and exploring ways to shorten the cycle in the future; The recognition basis is gradually shifting from electricity trading to parallel trading of electricity and green certificates. The National Energy Administration stated that it will focus on promoting the improvement of the functions of the green certificate issuance and trading system in the near future, supporting the implementation of accounting at all levels. When there is a unified standard for accounting, the dual control of carbon emissions will truly have a foundation.Editor/Cheng Liting