SHANGHAI: Polluters in the city's Pudong district will soon be able to start trading their "carbon credits" as part of a pilot program to help offset emissions.

The environmental bureau is to try Pollution Discharge Right Trade this year, with more than 300 companies using the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange (SEEE) as a trading platform.

The companies contribute more than 80 percent of Pudong's total pollution and the move will mean firms have to meet discharge requirements by controlling emissions or buy extra credits, explained Zhang Peijun, a director for the Pudong Environmental Protection Bureau, yesterday.