A third strong cap-and-trade auction in a row means another C$525 million for low-carbon projects in Ontario, Environmental Defence notes in a blog post this week.
“Ontario’s cap-and-trade program is off to a great start,” writes Clean Economy Program Manager Sarah Buchanan. “The auctions are working, and the money is being redirected into programs that will reduce greenhouse gas pollution, making it easier and more affordable for Ontarians to join the clean economy.”
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Counting previous auctions in April and June, Buchanan says cap-and-trade has brought Ontario nearly $1.5 billion so far this year.
The province’s September 6 summary of the latest auction results notes that “capped participants” bought 96.4% of available cap-and-trade credits for this year and 96.1% for 2020, at prices of $18.56 and $18.03 per tonne. The eight-page report lists 59 bidders that took part in the auction.
“Now that we’ve seen three strong auction performances in a row, it’s clear that the resources are there to grow these programs and incentives in the future,” Buchanan writes. “Confidence is high among Ontario’s businesses that the cap-and-trade program is here to stay, and that the Climate Change Action Plan is starting to yield results.” With the introduction of the Green Ontario Fund, she says funding is now available for energy improvements in households and small businesses, in addition to the big infrastructure projects that usually come to mind when carbon pricing revenues become available.
