Mei Dewen, General Manager of Beijing Environmental Exchange said "The Panda Standard serves as a key reference for China's fledgling carbon market, including the price of tradable carbon, the validation process, and the supervision system. It aims to channel money from polluting industries to fund agricultural and ecological projects in the countryside, helping alleviate poverty. It's a system tailored to China's realities."

The exact price Franshion Properties paid for the right to emit 17-thousand tons of carbon dioxide hasn't been disclosed. But sources familiar with the deal say the cost was around one million yuan, or about 100,000 euros. It has also been confirmed that the voluntary buy is slightly cheaper than the globally validated Clean Development Mechanism.

Mei Dewen said "There should be compulsory carbon trading measures, so companies will have to calculate the cost of buying carbon credits and, gradually, scarcity will be created. With scarcity, we will not be too far from having a transparent and fair pricing mechanism for carbon. This is how China's carbon trading market can mature."

The money from Tuesday's deal will go toward financing an initiative to improve eco-systems in southwest China's Yunnan Province. The project includes growing thousands of hectares of bamboo to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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