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ARTICLE · 28 NOVEMBER 2012

Call It a Win: Californa's First GHG Auction Sells Out

Foley Hoag LLP
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At California’s inaugural auction of greenhouse gas allowances last week, bidders bought all 23.1 million allowances for 2013 emissions sold at $10.09 per ton, a few significant cents above the floor price of $10.

United StatesEnvironment
Amy Boyd
Amy Boyd
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At California's inaugural auction of greenhouse gas allowances last week, bidders bought all 23.1 million allowances for 2013 emissions sold at $10.09 per ton, a few significant cents above the floor price of $10. The price and relatively high demand for the allowances -- with the state receiving three times as many bids as allowances available for sale -- bodes well for the fledgling market.   There is clearly more interest in the California market than for RGGI: the $10.09 per ton price is over five times the price garnered at the latest RGGI auction ($1.93), and three times higher than the highest ever RGGI price ($3.51 from March 2009). Although some of that effect is due to the fact that California set its floor price much higher than RGGI (currently $1.93), the real reason is one of supply, rather than demand. Through both intentional regulation and careful science, the California cap was set much lower than the RGGI cap (now estimated to be nearly double what

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