Prices in Washington’s carbon market have continued to trend upward as the price of emission allowances reached an all-time high this month.
The state held four auctions between September and December and raised just over $1.1 billion by selling over 16 million carbon emission allowances. …
Allowances cost $64.30 in the September auction and $70.86 in December, signaling an increase compared with prices earlier this year and since the program faced a recall in November 2024. The latest auctions bring the total amount raised by the program to over $4.3 billion.
When the program launched in 2023, the average price of an allowance from a quarterly auction was around $54.86 but then dipped to $31.46 in 2024. This year, the average price from a quarterly auction landed around $60.92. …
Critics of the carbon market have portrayed it as a cash grab by the state and say that it has led to higher prices for utilities, fuel and other consumer goods. …
The prices observed in the September and December quarterly auctions have exceeded the state Department of Ecology’s “high bounding” forecasts, which were released in June this year, though Nyland said these forecasts tend to be conservative to avoid over budgeting. …
Read the Complete Article »