The price of polluting has gone up in Washington state

The price of harming the climate has gone up in Washington state.

The Washington State Department of Ecology held its second auction for the right to pollute the climate on May 31 and announced the results on Wednesday.

At $56 for a ton of carbon dioxide, the price was about 15% higher than at the state’s first-ever carbon auction, held in February.

Starting this year, some major emitters of carbon dioxide have to pay the state for each ton of pollution they put out by buying “carbon allowances” at quarterly auctions. Other major polluters, including oil refineries and pulps mills, get to keep polluting the atmosphere at no charge for the time being.

In the May 31 auction, the price of carbon rose high enough to trigger an additional auction of future carbon allowances (for the year 2027) to keep the price from rising farther.

The latest auction raised about $557 million for programs to prevent or adapt to climate change.

The carbon auctions are the centerpieces of Gov. Jay Inslee’s “cap-and-invest” policy. It aims to reduce emissions and help fund the work necessary to both slow down and survive a rapidly heating climate.

The price of carbon in Washington is nearly twice the $30 price reached at similar carbon markets in California and Quebec earlier in May.

Washington officials say linking the three markets could lower the price here and make it easier for businesses to cut pollution.

Any linkage between the markets would begin no sooner than 2025.

The ecology department is currently assessing the pros and cons of making such a linkage.