| Against the backdrop of China’s accelerating transition toward a clean and low-carbon power system, the Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) scheme continues to face dual challenges of insufficient market demand and limited credibility. This study conducts a systematic analysis of the GEC system across its full life cycle of generation, trading, and consumption, revealing key structural issues such as the misalignment between certificate issuance and market transactions, as well as the lack of effective consumer demand. Building on the existing real-time electricity tracing system, the paper elucidates its technical principles and functional advantages in data collection, temporal matching, and reliable record keeping, and identifies its potential to provide a precise data foundation for hourly GEC issuance and application. On this basis, the study proposes an integrated development pathway that links the GEC mechanism with the real-time tracing framework. From a policy perspective, it suggests improving issuance standards and cross-system recognition mechanisms; from a market perspective, it designs a consumer-oriented incentive framework driven by real-time electricity information. Together, these measures establish an institutional loop of “data credibility – policy coordination – market response.” The findings provide both technical and policy insights for enhancing the credibility of China’s GEC system, improving renewable electricity consumption mechanisms, and supporting the achievement of national dual-carbon goals. |