On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Washington Department of Ecology hosted the first auction of emissions allowances under the cap-and-invest program established by the Climate Commitment Act. The bidding window was open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. PST. The results of the auction will be announced in the Auction Summary Report, which will be posted to Ecology’s website at noon on March 7. This report will include the settlement price, number of allowances sold, and other information.
Throughout the auction process, Ecology staff work in coordination with an independent market monitor to evaluate Ecology's auctions and confirm that each event is conducted and finalized according to Washington regulations. The time between the day of the auction and the release of the auction results allows Ecology to work with the market monitor to conduct this thorough review and prepare information for public release.
The March 7 report will also include a list of entities that were eligible to participate in the auction, but will not provide any information about actual participation, bidding activity, or other market-sensitive information.
On March 28, Ecology will issue a Washington Auction Public Proceeds Report confirming the amount of revenue raised by the auction after the financial transactions for successful bids have settled.
Both reports will be posted to Ecology’s Auctions and Trading webpage under the Market Information tab at the bottom of the page.
Quotes
- “Today’s auction marks an important milestone in the implementation of the cap-and-invest program,” said Laura Watson, Director of the Washington Department of Ecology. “I am proud of our staff’s work to bring this historic greenhouse gas reduction program to life.”
- “Our Ecology team has worked tirelessly to get this program off the ground and today’s auction marks the culmination of their efforts,” said Luke Martland, Ecology’s Climate Commitment Act implementation manager.