Beijing’s carbon trading program cut helped cut CO2 emissions 4.5 percent in 2013 compared to the previous year, Reuters reports.

The Chinese government did not say how many metric tons of CO2 were emitted or how many carbon permits were issued.

Beijing’s market, which began in November, allows high-emitting companies to use Chinese Certified Emissions Reduction (CCER) permits to meet up to 5 percent of their compliance obligations, and half of that must be from projects based in the city.

Seven Chinese cities and provinces have launched emissions trading programs and China plans to launch a national carbon market in 2016.

Global carbon pollution reached a record high last year, spurred by China, the US and India, according to researched published last week in the peer-reviewed journals Nature Geoscience and Nature Climate Change.