Official says carbon caps real possibility

BEIJING - China is likely to soon begin a campaign to limit the absolute amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by certain industries in certain regions, a senior climate official told a forum on Wednesday.

Sun Zhen, an official from the National Development and Reform Commission, said the campaign will be a step beyond the country's current goal of curbing its carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon it releases for each unit of its GDP. He also said the policy will lay the foundation for carbon-trading programs.

"Throughout the country, we have adopted a plan for reducing releases of carbon: to substantially cut our carbon emissions for each unit of economic output," Sun told China Daily at a symposium on climate change in Beijing on Wednesday.