On 10 August 2012 the Australian Government released further information about the design features of carbon unit auctions, which will begin in the 2013-14 financial year. From 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2015, the price for each tonne of carbon pollution will be fixed. From 1 July 2015, the carbon pricing mechanism will transition to a ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading scheme and the carbon price will be set by the market. The Australian Government will allocate some carbon units to businesses. The remaining units will be sold at auction.
Further, on 31 August 2012 the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency released draft legislation which would increase the carbon unit auction limit from 15 million to 40 million for 2015-16 units auctioned in 2013‑14, and 20 million for all other advance auctions before a pollution cap is set.
The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) assesses options for auctioning carbon units from 2013-14. The RIS considers the number of carbon units available at particular auctions; the frequency with which auctions will be held; and the amount, and form, of collateral to be provided by participants of the carbon auction. The RIS also assesses options for amending the carbon unit auction limit.
The RIS was prepared by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.
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