China’s carbon emissions market got off to a flying start on Friday, July 16, with giants such as the state-owned oil company Sinopec and the coal producer China Energy Investment among the first companies to enter the market. Within ten minutes of trading, the daily limit of 10% for the price increase per metric ton of carbon was reached. On that first day, 4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent were traded, reaching a price of US$7.42 per metric ton—well below the price on the European market, where it trades at more than US$50 per metric ton. However, after the promising start, the market lost steam, falling below 100,000 metric tons traded per day in the week following its launch, due to limited liquidity, restrictions on market access, and caution on the part of large companies, which want to see how the market develops. This market is still in its early stages of development, and experts note that it will take time for it to have a significant impact on the decarbonization of China, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.