UPDATE – Washington Q3 carbon auction settlement triggers second reserve sale, prompting sudden cost containment measures

The August auction for Washington’s WCI-modelled cap-and-invest programme sold out at a new high and triggered its second reserve sale this fall, according to results published Wednesday, though permit values tumbled on the secondary market after the Department of Ecology (ECY) revealed millions of these forthcoming cost containment allowances would be sold exclusively at the scheme’s lower reserve tier price well below recent levels.