While attending an auction to obtain China's first pollution permit in 2008, Tian Yu admits he lacked even the foggiest notion of what he was bidding on.
"Frankly speaking, the other participants and I knew little about what pollution permit trading was at the time," he says.
Though Tian, a manager for a pharmaceuticals company in Tianjin, has since gained more knowledge on the pilot emissions trading program, most companies that would benefit from the system have not.
Special guidance and a strong push from the central government is necessary to make more companies join the trading mechanism, said Tian.
Tianjin is one of the 11 pilot cities and provinces across the country for such trading platforms. But the pilot trading market differs from place to place with varying regulations, including the price.
Compounding the problem, the trading market has grown stagnant. In Tianjin only one deal worth 155,000 CNY (25,200 U.S. dollars) was reached since the start of the program.
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