Cap-and-Invest auctions & market
Businesses that are covered under the Climate Commitment Act must obtain compliance instruments equal to their covered emissions each year. Each instrument (emissions allowance or offset credit) is equal to 1 metric ton of greenhouse gases.
Allowances are issued by Ecology and either given to certain businesses for free, as directed by the law, or sold at quarterly auction. Allowances can be used for compliance, saved to use in a future year, or traded between market participants (just like stocks and bonds).
Program compliance
The 2023 compliance event is Nov. 1, 2024. To be compliant, businesses that are required to participate or those that opt into the program voluntarily can choose their most cost-effective strategy for compliance, including:
- Purchasing allowances at auction
- Purchasing from other entities
- Obtaining allowances through no-cost allocation
- Earning or purchasing offset credits (limits apply)
- Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- A combination of the above
All other details related to compliance, including deadlines and obligations, are on the Cap-and-Invest Program compliance webpage.
Auction timeline for 2024
Below, you'll find an interactive graphic illustrating the timeline for all four quarterly auctions in 2024, as well as the reports we issue after each auction detailing settlement price, number of allowances sold, and other information. This graphic also includes information about triggered and potential Allowance Price Containment Reserve auctions. We'll update this graphic each year.
To download a static PDF of all 2024 auction dates in chronological order, click the link in the caption below.
Auctions FAQ
In December 2021, Washington joined the Western Climate Initiative Inc. (WCI), the nonprofit that provides the auction platform for the linked programs in California and Québec, as well as the standalone program in Nova Scotia.
We held our first auction Feb. 28, 2023. We'll hold four quarterly auctions each year. You can find more information about how auctions work below.
Information about upcoming auctions and past auction results can be found at the bottom of the page under the "Notices and reports" tabs.
Allowance Price Containment Reserve (APCR) FAQ
The APCR is a separate pool of allowances that are still under the cap but only released into the market when: quarterly auction prices reach a certain threshold; new entities enter the Cap-and-Invest Program and specific conditions are met; and once a year, prior to each compliance deadline. This mechanism is designed to ensure businesses can obtain allowances at pre-determined prices.
APCR Auctions are only open to businesses and entities that are required to obtain allowances to cover their emissions ("covered" or "opt-in entities"). APCR auctions are not open to investors or other entities without a compliance obligation ("general market participants").
APCR allowances can only be used to cover emissions and do not have a vintage. APCR allowances won at auction are deposited directly into entities’ compliance accounts; they can’t be sold or traded among market participants to generate revenue.
Starting in 2023, we'll host four auctions a year, each consisting of a single round of bidding by auction participants. We'll announce the dates of upcoming auctions at least 60 days in advance on our webpage and to subscribers of the auctions and market updates email list.
2024 Auction Notices
- Auction Notice #5 - March 2024
- Auction Notice #6 - June 2024
- Auction Notice #7 - Sept. 2024
- APCR Auction Notice #3 - Oct. 2024
- Auction Notice #8 - Dec. 2024
2025 Annual Notices
After each quarterly auction, we'll post an Auction Summary Report outlining information about the settlement price and number of allowances sold. A few weeks later, we'll also post a Public Proceeds Report confirming the amount of revenue raised by the auction and a rolling tally of all auction proceeds since the beginning of the program on Jan. 1, 2023.
We also publish reports on different aspects of auctions and market participation, which will be included here for the current year. For previous reports, we maintain an archive of all Cap-and-Invest auction and market reports.
2024 auction reports
- Auction #5 Summary Report — March 2024
- Auction #5 Proceeds Report — March 2024
- Auction #6 Summary Report — June 2024
- Auction #6 Proceeds Report — June 2024
- Auction #7 Summary Report — September 2024
- Auction #7 Proceeds Report — September 2024
- APCR Auction #3 Summary Report — October 2024
- APCR Auction #3 Proceeds Report — October 2024
Other market reports
- CITSS Registrant Report — December 2023
- CITSS Holdings Report — December 2023
- 2023 Annual Proceeds Report
- CITSS Registrant Report — March 2024
- CITSS Holdings Report — March 2024
- CITSS Registrant Report — June 2024
- CITSS Holdings Report — June 2024
- CITSS Registrant Report — September 2024
- CITSS Holdings Report — September 2024
You can also sign up to receive auction and trading updates via email to be notified when we issue these reports.
Electric utilities (2023-2026)
Please contact CCAutility@ecy.wa.gov with questions regarding utility allocation.
Natural gas utilities (2023-2026)
EITEs
- New rulemaking for Cap-and-Invest APCR provisions
- Updated APCR auction supply guidance through 2026
- Statement on Initiative 2117
- California, Québec, and Washington agree to explore linkage
- Statement on potential impacts of I-2117
- Statement on the Availability of CITSS
- Senate Bill 6058 implementation
Contact information
- Auctions, CITSS, or auction platform registration, or emails with market-sensitve information: RegistrarCCA@ecy.wa.gov (secure) or 360-407-6296
- Emissions reporting and verification: GHGReporting@ecy.wa.gov
- Offset projects and credits: CCAOffsets@ecy.wa.gov
- Electricity topics: CCAElectricity@ecy.wa.gov
- General Climate Commitment Act questions: CCAQuestions@ecy.wa.gov