Carbon Emission Newsletter -November,2025
No.1
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) have issued the Opinions on Promoting the Large-scale Development of Concentrated Solar Power, clarifying the development goals for concentrated solar power by 2030. Centering on five key dimensions—planning guidance, application market cultivation, support for the new-type power system, technological and industrial innovation, and policy guarantees—the document puts forward 18 specific opinions, aiming to advance the large-scale development of concentrated solar power and facilitate the construction of a new-type power system.
The key opinions are as follows:
Support leading concentrated solar power enterprises and scientific research institutions in establishing R&D consortia, focus on key fields to break through core technologies, and develop localized equipment.
Encourage enterprises to participate in investment and financing models such as REITs for concentrated solar power projects, and actively engage in medium and long-term power transactions and auxiliary service markets to gain returns.
Clarify that concentrated solar power enterprises can independently choose to obtain green returns through the CCER mechanism, green certificate market, and the price settlement mechanism for the sustainable development of new energy. Meanwhile, specify the mutual exclusion rules for these three types of returns to prevent double-counting of benefits.
No.2
No.3
To improve the comprehensive management capacity of solid waste, the competent authorities have clarified the formulation and revision requirements for four technical specifications for solid waste pollution control, and put forward targeted governance measures for different types of solid waste, as follows:
Promote the source classification management of construction waste, improve its reusability and prevent pollution from disposal processes.
Conduct inspections on potential solid waste pollution risks in mining areas, and remediate environmental risks caused by heavy metals.
Implement the disposal requirements for waste electrical and electronic products, and strengthen the whole-process supervision.
Popularize the green dismantling technologies for waste photovoltaic equipment, and enhance pollution prevention and control during the recycling and utilization phase.
No.4
On 20 November 2025, the European Union released its proposal for revising the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR 2.0). Optimization of sustainability-related financial disclosure rules centered on the ten key changes, which includes:
Introduce new labels, investment criteria and disclosure requirements for sustainability-related financial products; funds previously under Articles 8/9 SFDR need to reassess their eligibility for the new classification.
Fund-of-funds and similar products investing in sustainability-related financial products can be included in the classification system if they meet the 70% investment threshold and applicable exclusion criteria.
Prospectus disclosures for sustainability-related financial products shall not exceed 2 pages, with an additional 1 page for impact-focused products, representing a significant simplification.
Unify prospectus disclosure requirements for sustainability-related financial products, with the length capped at 2 pages.
Narrow the scope of application, excluding investment firms providing portfolio management and entities previously defined as financial advisers.
Abolish the concept of "sustainable investment" and the associated "do no significant harm" test.
Remove entity-level requirements related to Principal Adverse Impacts (PAI).
Delete requirements on integrating sustainability risks into remuneration policies; existing disclosure obligations under Article 6 and sustainability policy-related requirements remain in force.
Simplify website disclosure requirements, allowing direct links to prospectuses and periodic reports for sustainability-related financial products.
Add a new exemption for closed-end financial products (those launched and distributed before SFDR 2.0 takes effect may opt out of compliance); the exemption for AIFs exclusively offered to professional investors, included in the leaked draft, is removed in the final version.
It will move forward in accordance with the EU’s ordinary legislative procedure. The revised disclosure requirements are planned to take effect 18 months after the regulation enters into force, with no transition period applied to Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs).
-END-