China's most expensive priced carbon market is set to launch on Dec 16 in the southern province of Guangdong.

An initial 3 million metric tonnes of carbon has been set for auction priced at a starting amount of 60 yuan ($9.90) per tonne, the provincial Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its Web site.

Guangdong's carbon market is China's fourth, following Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. However its floor price is costlier compared to the other two. Shenzhen started on 28 yuan a tonne, Shanghai on 25 yuan a tonne and Beijing on 50 yuan a tonne.

Charlie Cao, a Beijing-based analyst from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said the price of the first trade "will probably be even higher and would be the highest starting price of the Chinese pilots so far."

Guangdong's carbon market permits will be the world's second biggest after the European Union. It is China's most populous province with more than 100 million people.

At least 242 companies from heavily industrialized Guangdong will be included in the launch. The target cap is 388 million tonnes for 2013, an earlier statement on theWeb site of the provincial Development and Reform Commission said.

Among the firms covered in the scheme include state-owned power companies Datang, Huaneng and Shenhua. Manufacturers and petrochemical firms are likewise included.

As the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, China has decided to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 2020 by as much as up to 45 per cent.

China accounted for four-fifths of the rise in annual carbon dioxide emissions from 2002 to 2012.

Planned carbon markets in Hubei province and the cities of Chongqing and Tianjin are scheduled to launch in 2014.