President Biden on Friday raised the social cost of carbon, a little-known but important figure that informs a wide range of policies for industrial and energy production. The actions of mr. Biden restores the number to the price tag of the Obama era, and sets up a working group that calculates the economic impact of pollution.
The social cost of carbon is an estimate of the long-term damage to carbon on our environment. Former President Trump has disbanded the Interagency Working Group (IMG), which set the number in 2017, and ordered agencies to drastically devalue the social costs of carbon. Biden’s announcement restores the IWG and increases the cost of carbon to $ 51 per tonne of carbon dioxide.
However, the number was determined by the IWG before the group disbanded in 2017, and does not reflect recent developments in the science and economy of climate change, according to a technical support document released by the working group on Friday. . The IMG now had the task of recalculating the social cost of carbon – as well as the social cost of other greenhouse gases – and by January 2022 providing an updated number.
“A fuller update that follows the best science takes time. That’s why we are rapidly restoring previous estimates as an interim step,” Heather Boushey, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement. said in the White House of the IMG co-chairs. “With these estimates temporarily in place, the Interagency Working Group will continue its critical work to evaluate the latest climate science and economic research, incorporating it and responding to the recommendations of the National Academies, as we conduct a more comprehensive review. of estimates for release within a year. “
Activists and experts believe that the number should be significantly higher if the United States wants to meet the commitments under the Paris Agreement, a climate treaty dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in more than 180 countries around the world. Mr. Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2020 and Mr. Biden re-entered the office on his first day.
Professor Joe Stiglitz of Columbia University and Professor Lord Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics and Political Science said in a statement earlier this month that Biden’s decision to get rid of the Trump administration’s “probable estimate” quickly, is “understandable” but “defective.” Stiglitz and Stern say the U.S. should double the Obama era to $ 100 per tonne of carbon dioxide “to ensure policies and regulations align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
“The low value adopted by the Obama administration was based on the outputs of economic models that are known to be inadequate and ignore the greatest possible consequences of climate change,” they wrote. “We trust that the Biden administration will thoroughly evaluate the social cost of carbon before publishing its final assessment of value next year.”
Other experts believe the cost should be up to $ 125 per tonne, as the state of New York estimated last year.
“As this process progresses, we are committed to engaging with the public and diverse stakeholders, seeking the advice of ethical experts and ensuring that the social costs of greenhouse gases take into account climate risk, environmental justice and intergenerational justice, reads the White House’s statement. “The result is even stronger scientific estimates developed through a transparent and robust process.”