| The root of carbon emissions in human society lies in end consumption. The demand-side carbon reduction, which relies on behavioral changes in consumption, has become a pivotal focus for achieving the carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Under the drive of digitalization, the carbon generalized system of preferences (CGSP), which advocates “Society-wide emission reduction”, has emerged as a powerful tool to promote demand-side carbon emission reduction. However, the theoretical discourse on this mechanism trails its practical development. The study firstly traces the theoretical origins of the carbon generalized system of preferences, clarifying its differences from traditional individual carbon trading mechanisms and its potential innovations in widespread practice. Subsequently, through typical case analyses, the operational characteristics of government-led, enterprise-led, and platform-based CGSP practice models are explored. Based on the key attributes of this mechanism—promotion forms, emission reduction scenarios, accounting rules, incentive types, supervisory entities, and participation forms—the sustainability issues of the three typical CGSP operation modes are discussed. Based on this foundation, the key challenges currently faced by carbon inclusion mechanisms are identified, including limited coverage, inconsistent standards, unsustainable economic incentives, and inadequate data security systems. Lastly, the paper proposes several solutions to ensure the effective and sustainable operation of the CGSP and to truly leverage individual low-carbon behavioral changes to support demand-side carbon reduction. These solutions include establishing a unified national carbon generalized system of preferences platform, constructing scientific and unified verification standards, incorporating emission reductions into the CCER (China Certified Emission Reduction) and establishing a robust privacy protection system to form an “incentive closed-loop”. |
