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social cost of carbon

The Social Cost of Carbon – Revisited

The case for using global rather than simply U.S. impacts.

The estimated harm done by a single ton of carbon in the atmosphere – the “social cost of carbon” — is a key factor in setting climate policy. The Trump Administration is trying to get its estimate as close to zero as possible. A key part of this effort is to exclude from consideration the …

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Whither the Social Cost of Carbon?

Trump rescinded the Obama Administration’s estimate. Now what?

Republicans vehemently attacked the Obama Administration’s estimate of the social cost of carbon. Trump withdrew that estimate and directed individual federal agencies to do their own estimates. The agencies will now be faced with a number of problems, and it’s not clear that they are well positioned to deal with them. They might prefer to …

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Trump’s Executive Order: Bad Policy and More Uncertainty

President Trump’s Executive Order on climate policy is an invitation to bad policymaking and legal uncertainty. The big-ticket item targeted by the Order, of course, is the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan and related rules on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. The EO has limited immediate legal impact: none of the major rules can …

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Trump’s Frontal Assault on Climate Policy

The true victims aren’t you and me. It’s our descendants who will pay the price, long after Trump is gone.

We live in a time of contrasts. Yesterday, scientists reported more evidence that climate change will intensify heat waves and droughts in temperate zones through changes in the jet stream. Today, however, the Trump Administration initiated the process of eliminating federal climate policies. In a pointed insult to EPA staff who have worked long and …

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Legal Mandates to Consider the Social Cost of Climate Change

Considering climate impacts isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law.

Many people seem to think that considering climate impacts and the social cost of carbon was just a policy decision by the Obama Administration, which Trump if he doesn’t buy the reality of climate change. But it’s not that easy. But there are strong arguments that considering climate change is mandatory. First, the whole idea of considering …

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A Small-Government Approach to Pricing Carbon

We can impose a price on carbon without a tax or emissions trading. Here’s how.

Cap and dividend is a politically appealing idea; put a price on carbon, then refund the money to consumers in equal shares. But conservatives and libertarians object to this idea on two grounds. First, cap-and-trade systems are complex and require a lot of regulatory oversight. Second, if the government collects the money, despite its current …

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The Shadow Price of Carbon

Merging Cost-Benefit Analysis and Feasibility Analysis

The U.S. government has devoted a lot of time and effort to estimating the social cost of carbon. This is basically a standard exercise in cost-benefit analysis, following a familiar three-step process: 1. Impacts. Figure out the physical impacts of the emissions. This involves setting up some emissions scenarios and then running computer simulations to …

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A Case of Reverse Causation?

Tomorrow’s Emission Determine Today’s Social Cost of Carbon

Here’s the weird thing: the social cost of carbon today, depends significantly on the year-by-year emissions of carbon in the future, which we obviously don’t know. (Because it depends on our own future actions!) It takes some explanation to show why that’s true and how it matters. If you know a bit about climate policy, you know …

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Capturing Carbon

A recent CRS report provides a wealth of information about carbon capture. You can learn a lot about the various technologies and how close or far they are from possible adoption. But for most of us, the technical details matter less than the answers to some key questions: Is carbon capture technically feasible? Can it …

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The House Takes Aim at EPA Regulation of Power Plant Pollution

Last week, the House passed HR 1582 on a 232-181 vote. The law is designed to restrict EPA regulation of power plants, but the House also adopted an amendment that takes a swipe at environmental economists. HR 1582 is mercifully brief and to the point. When EPA proposes a rule that would impose over $1 billion …

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A $1 Billion Investment in the ‘New Forest Economy’

A global group of governors just issued a call-to-action for more flexible funding for forest protection. Here’s why that’s important.

Is “carbon management” just another COP-out?

Fudging the differences between carbon capture and carbon removal risks weakening climate action

Addressing Corruption In Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chains

New CLEE/NRGI issue brief offers solutions

The New Frontier of Methane Regulation 

Nations, companies, and NGOs are targeting methane like never before using satellite data. A new UCLA paper outlines what that could mean for regulation. 

When Communities Take Over Their Energy Systems

Is Local Control A Good Thing? It’s Complicated . . .

Climate Change and the Hard-Headed Realist

Henry Kissinger showed that you don’t have to have a shred of idealism to favor climate action.

Why Do Small Changes in Global Temperature Matter So Much?

One problem is that we’ve pursued optimization rather than robustness.

Climate Backlash

Vicious attacks on climate progress are on the rise.

A Guide to Environmental Law Centers

There are twenty and the list is growing.

U.S.-China Climate Deal Means Good Vibes for COP28

Here are key takeaways from the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis ahead of the UN climate talks in Dubai.

A Guide to Environmental Law Centers

There are twenty and the list is growing.

Evolving Air Quality Standards

The standards have gotten tougher. Compliance still lags.

Who Should Own Our Electric Utilities?

Voters in Maine rejected a ballot initiative to buy out private utilities, but the campaign reflects a growing interest in public power.

Climate Policy in the World’s Fourth Largest Country

In case you’re wondering, that would be Indonesia in terms of population.

How to Get to Zero Emissions at the Ports

A new report by UCLA and UC Berkeley examines policy solutions to accelerate deployment of zero-emission cargo handling equipment at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

social cost of carbon

The case for using global rather than simply U.S. impacts.

Trump rescinded the Obama Administration’s estimate. Now what?

The true victims aren’t you and me. It’s our descendants who will pay the price, long after Trump is gone.

Considering climate impacts isn’t just a good idea. It’s the law.

We can impose a price on carbon without a tax or emissions trading. Here’s how.

Merging Cost-Benefit Analysis and Feasibility Analysis

Tomorrow’s Emission Determine Today’s Social Cost of Carbon

TRENDING

A global group of governors just issued a call-to-action for more flexible funding for forest protection. Here’s why that’s important.

Fudging the differences between carbon capture and carbon removal risks weakening climate action

New CLEE/NRGI issue brief offers solutions

Nations, companies, and NGOs are targeting methane like never before using satellite data. A new UCLA paper outlines what that could mean for regulation.

Is Local Control A Good Thing? It’s Complicated . . .

Henry Kissinger showed that you don’t have to have a shred of idealism to favor climate action.

One problem is that we’ve pursued optimization rather than robustness.

Vicious attacks on climate progress are on the rise.

There are twenty and the list is growing.

Here are key takeaways from the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis ahead of the UN climate talks in Dubai.

There are twenty and the list is growing.

The standards have gotten tougher. Compliance still lags.

Voters in Maine rejected a ballot initiative to buy out private utilities, but the campaign reflects a growing interest in public power.

In case you’re wondering, that would be Indonesia in terms of population.

A new report by UCLA and UC Berkeley examines policy solutions to accelerate deployment of zero-emission cargo handling equipment at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Some thoughts for Environmental History Week.

Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms are technically no longer plaintiffs in the lawsuit they launched. But their water war wages on.

Here are key takeaways from the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis ahead of the UN climate talks in Dubai.

Vicious attacks on climate progress are on the rise.

Is Local Control A Good Thing? It’s Complicated . . .

Nations, companies, and NGOs are targeting methane like never before using satellite data. A new UCLA paper outlines what that could mean for regulation. 