A power plant of Shenzhen Energy Group, a state-owned utility, sold an emission permit for 10,000 tonnes to the Guangdong arm of state oil group PetroChina for Rmb28 ($5) a tonne and another 10,000 tonnes to Hanergy, a privately owned power generator and solar-panel maker, for Rmb30 a tonne, according to the Shenzhen Carbon Exchange.

深圳排放权交易所(CERX)表示，国有事业单位深圳能源集团(Shenzhen Energy Group)以每吨28元人民币的价格向国有石油集团中石油(PetroChina)出售了1万吨的排放限额，并以每吨30元人民币的价格向民营发电商和太阳能电池板制造商汉能(Hanergy)出售了1万吨的排放限额。

“This means that our country has taken a key step in establishing a car-bon market,” the exchange said.

该交易所称：“这意味着我国在建立碳市场方面迈出了关键一步。”

Carbon markets allow companies to buy permits to emit carbon dioxide from those that burn less fossil fuels. They thus help set a price on emissions, a mechanism that aims to encourage companies to cut such pollution and invest in cleaner technologies.

碳市场让企业向燃烧化石燃料较少的公司购买二氧化碳排放限额。这些公司因此参与到排放的定价中，这一机制旨在鼓励企业降低污染，投资清洁技术。

The trading scheme, launched in a grand ceremony in the presence of local and national policy makers, is the first among seven regional trading platforms to start operating this year or next to help the government decide in 2015 whether to set up a nationwide carbon market.

当地和国家政策官员出席了该交易所盛大的揭幕仪式。除深圳排放权交易所外，还有6家地区交易平台将在今年或明年开始运营，之后政府将在2015年决定是否建立全国性的碳市场。

“This is further proof that China recognises the need to address climate change,” said Dan Dudek, head of the China programme of the US non-profit group Environmental Defense Fund. However, some experts say the scheme is little more than a drop in the ocean considering China’s total emissions.

非营利组织美国环保协会(Environmental Defense Fund)的中国项目主管杜丹德(Dan Dudek)称：“这进一步表明中国认识到应对气候变化的需要。”但部分专家认为，考虑到中国的总排放量，这种碳交易计划不过是沧海一粟。