In the face of environmental crises, Chinese companies are seeking strategies to adapt to a new business atmosphere, and levying carbon taxes was a hot topic at the Annual Summit of China Green Companies 2010 held over the weekend.

Hundreds of corporate presidents and CEOs, as well as some political leaders, gathered in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, to discuss implementing a low-carbon economic model.

Jiang Kejuan, a researcher with the Energy Research Institute at the National Development and Reform Commission, said the team he works with "has finished its research, and entered into the period of persuading the government to levy carbon taxes during the 12th Five-Year Plan" period from 2011 to 2015.

The carbon tax proposal appears to face difficulties in implementation, with questions remaining regarding the tax rate and what stage of production taxes would be applied to.

Jiang suggested imposing carbon taxes on a company's producing period. He said a lower tax rate during the initial stage would be a practical step, one that would echo China's path in introducing a tax on oil products last year.

"The carbon tax rates could be raised gradually like taxes on oil products," Jiang said."We want to inform companies that they need to seize the opportunities of a low-carbon economy, which is an inexorable trend worldwide, as quickly as they can."

Ding Liguo, board chairman of Delong Holding Limited, the country's first private steel company to list on the Singapore Stock Exchange, told the Global Times during a break at the conference that his company has already taken actions including utilizing water cyclically and generating power from waste gas.

"Some of the costly techniques could gain profits, while others could not," Ding added.

He said that as a private steel company, Delong has faced serious cost pressures, especially when global iron ore negotiations broke down and prices rose consequently, since steel companies pay heavy taxes.

"The steel industry is quite different from the monopolized sectors, which can transmit their carbon tax cost to consumers," Jiang said. "But we are not (a monopoly), so I hope the government gives overall consideration when it enacts a carbon tax, and sets up incentive mechanisms to reward those companies that perform well in emission reductions."