Policy Empowerment: Green Certificates Drive a New Paradigm for Electric Vehicle Green Development
On March 28, 2025, five departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Energy Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, and the National Data Bureau jointly issued guidelines titled “Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Renewable Energy Green Power Certificate Market”. This initiative further enhances both the environmental and economic value of renewable energy.
The green certificate system is reshaping the value chain of China’s electric vehicle industry through policy regulation, market transactions, international benchmarking, and systemic coordination. This effort significantly boosts the development of the new energy vehicle industry, providing strong impetus towards achieving the country’s “dual carbon” goals.
Establishing a Green Supply-Demand Cycle for Electric Vehicles
On the supply side, clean energy bases across China utilize an integrated model of water, wind, solar, and storage to provide green energy for lithium mining and cathode material production for electric vehicles. This regional synergy between energy and industry effectively reduces the carbon emission intensity in the upstream production of lithium batteries, thereby reinforcing the foundation for low-carbon development in the electric vehicle sector.
On the demand side, the high-quality development of green certificates contributes to environmental protection and encourages residents to purchase electric vehicles with green attributes. This creates a positive feedback loop between production and consumption, continuously energizing the development of China’s electric vehicle industry.
Accelerating the Green Transformation of Charging Infrastructure
The guidelines clearly state the need to “promote green charging stations and support the use of green electricity for new energy vehicles.” Through the green certificate mechanism, the green electricity attributes of charging stations are strengthened. In the future, it will be possible for charging stations to be directly coupled with renewable energy generation projects. For instance, an integrated model of distributed photovoltaics, energy storage, and charging stations will significantly increase the proportion of green electricity consumed.
Additionally, this will encourage charging operators to prioritize the procurement of green electricity, facilitating the greening of the entire lifecycle of electric vehicles.
Optimizing the Pricing Mechanism for Electric Vehicles
The guidelines emphasize the establishment of a robust pricing mechanism for green certificates. A well-developed pricing structure and index research can provide electric vehicle manufacturers and suppliers with predictive models for the costs and benefits of purchasing green electricity and selling green certificates. A stable green certificate price helps reduce market volatility risks and, through supply chain transmission, financial innovation, and alignment with international regulations, can reshape the cost competitiveness landscape of new energy vehicles, optimizing the energy costs for electric vehicles in China.
Improving the Industry Standard System and Certification Mechanism
Looking ahead, standards for green certification, such as “Green Electricity V2G Certification,” can be developed based on the established tiered identification requirements for green electricity consumption. These standards can address various application scenarios for electric vehicles, enhancing market recognition and attracting more users. Furthermore, leveraging the policy regulation, market transactions, international benchmarking, and systemic synergy of the green certificate system will aid new energy vehicles in expanding into overseas markets.
The continuous improvement of the green certificate market in terms of supply, consumption, and trading mechanisms provides critical policy linkages for the development of the electric vehicle industry. As a vital bridge connecting renewable energy consumption and the monetization of flexible resources for electric vehicles, green certificates will further promote innovative applications in electric vehicle business models and assist the industry in transitioning from scale expansion to quality enhancement.
