Carbon Auction Sellout Raises $1.2 Billion

The California Air Resources Board held another successful auction this month, witnessing a sellout of all 75.3M California Carbon Allowances (CCAs) up for sale.

Current vintage CCAs reached a settlement price of $17.16, well above the floor price of $15.62.  All 66.3 million available current vintage CCAs sold out, with the highest bid ratio seen since 2017.  Only 87% of the CCAs were purchased by compliance entities, demonstrating continued engagement from speculators looking to capitalize on the low prices they believe underestimate the true value of the carbon market.  Future vintage CCAs for use beginning in 2022 settled at $16.85.  The sellout of all 9 million 2022 CCAs produced revenues of $152 million.

Cumulatively, the August auction resulted in the sale of 75.3 million CCAs, generating $1.2 billion.  To date, 1.6 billion CCAs have been sold at auction, resulting in over $22.6 billion in funds to create emission reduction projects and improve air quality.