The fifth Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction was held on April 5–6, with 31 contracts entered into by the Clean Energy Regulator (Regulator) for the delivery of just 11 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) at an average price of $11.82. $133 million in funding was committed, with more than $300 million remaining in the government’s initial $2.55 billion funding tranche.
In line with expectations, results are a considerable step down from earlier auction events. At auction four (November 2016), over $360 million in funding was committed to purchase 34 million ACCUs (47 contracts), while $516 million was committed at auction three (April 2016), purchasing over 50 million ACCUs over 73 contracts.
As noted in our earlier outlook, the poor auction result reflects negative market sentiment in the ERF, with the low average price of ACCUs and the administrative complexity of the scheme creating a significant barrier to participation for many firms, particularly high emitting companies.
This low level of participation is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, with the low average price of abatement resulting in many projects being economically stranded under the ERF with little incentive for further bidding given the current low price environment.
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