by Derek Six | March 9, 2026
Updates for the period ending February 28, 2026
| .CCO 8s-Non-DEBs | Bid 16.00 | Ask 16.30 |
| .CCO 8s-DEBs | Bid 25.00 | Ask 25.25 |
CCO 8s are ARB-issued offsets available for spot delivery and subject to 8 years during which they may be invalidated.
| .CCO 3s- Non-DEBs | Bid 16.25 | Bid 16.50 |
| .CCO 3s- DEBs | Bid 25.30 | Bid 25.60 |
CCO 3s are ARB-issued offsets available for spot delivery and subject to 3 years during which they may be invalidated. The reduction to 3 years is achieved by having a different verifier successfully verify the project the following year.
| .CA Compliance Allowances | Bid 28.05 | Ask 28.15 |
Allowances are the permits entities purchase to emit in CA. Entities can substitute offsets for up to 4% of their total emissions. Prices shown are for the front-month futures contract.
| .CA Floor Price 2026 | 27.94 |
The minimum price at which entities can purchase allowances in 2026.
| .Estimated CA floor price 2027 | 30.14 |
Allowances are the permits entities purchase to emit in CA. Entities can substitute offsets for up to 4% of their total (the minimum price at which entities can purchase allowances in 2027 increases by 5% annually plus CPI-U).
(Bid/Ask Prices are taken from multiple broker quotes for the period ended February 28, 2026. The 2026 CA Floor Price is the regulatory minimum auction price for allowances. The 2027 estimate is based on regulatory rules and ClimeCo’s assumption of inflation in 2026 as measured by the CPI-U index. Green numbers indicate positive changes during the month, red numbers indicate negative changes during the month, and black numbers are unchanged.)
Offset Supply Information:
All CCOs issued to date: 289.14 million
CA and General Market Commentary:
- On February 18, 2026, the CA Air Resources Board held the first quarterly allowance auction of 2026. The auction reserve price (floor price) was $27.94, and the auction settled at the minimum price, with the bid-to-cover ratio at only 1.04. Futures market settled lower following the auction results announcement.
- The week of March 2, a draft Washington-California-Quebec linkage agreement was released. The draft would add Washington to the joint California-Quebec program with mutual recognition of compliance instruments and joint auctions. A specific timeline for harmonization is not provided in the draft, but the WA website suggests 2027 as a possible first year of the linked market.
- Issuances of CCOs in February totaled 368,724. We are watching the issuance trends as compared to the same period in previous years to gauge the future available supply of DEBs and Non-DEBs offsets. Issuance volumes so far this year are historically low:
| .Year | Total Issuances YTD |
| .2021 | 1,258,784 |
| .2022 | 1,429,204 |
| .2023 | 793,750 |
| .2024 | 4,899,905 |
| 2025 | 634,696 |
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