China's Yellow River basin implements first judicial carbon credit transaction

(ECNS) -- China's Yellow River basin implemented its first judicial carbon credit transaction related to soil and water conservation, according to the Yellow River Conservancy Commission (YRCC) of the Ministry of Water Resources on Monday.

The transaction introduced an innovative model to replace traditional ecological damage compensation, marking a new approach that integrates judicial enforcement with soil and water conservation.

This originated from an environmental judicial case. Earlier this year, the Ziwuling Forest Court in Xifeng District, northwest China's Gansu Province, guided the defendant to assume legal responsibility by purchasing 250 metric tons of carbon credits from Nanshaohe Valley as a substitute for traditional ecological damage compensation.

In this case, by turning ecological violators into ecological restorers, YRCC uses market-based mechanisms to convert the ecological benefits of soil and water conservation into measurable economic value. This not only offers a new path for judicial ecological compensation but also serves as a model for similar cases.

In October 2024, the local environment bureau calculated the carbon sink volume from conservation efforts and listed it on the Xiamen property rights exchange's carbon trading market, completing soil and water conservation carbon offset transactions.

(By Gong Weiwei)