Carbon Permit Auction Nets State $862-Million

Sacramento, CA — California’s recent auction of permits/allowances via its cap-and-trade program brought a record setting amount.

The state requires high polluting companies to purchase permits to offset carbon emissions with the revenue going to things like low income housing projects, transit, electric car rebates, high speed rail, etc. The most recent auction brought in around $862-million in revenue, setting record highs in consecutive quarters. The state set a minimum price per permit of $13.57 and the final auction price was $15.06. All available permits were purchased. The cap-and-trade program is set to run through 2030. The California Air Resources Control Board reports that carbon emissions dropped by nearly five-percent in 2016 compared to 2015. California has set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40-percent below the 1990 levels by the year 2030.