Environmental Law & Finance Series: The Social Cost of Carbon

When
June 17, 2021 12:00 pm — 1:30 pm
Where
Webinar Only

An ELI Member Webinar

As part of its new climate change policy, the Biden Administration reinstated the social cost of carbon (SCC) as a tool to inform federal regulatory decision-making with climate change impacts in first-day Executive Order 13990.  The social cost of carbon (SCC) is an estimate of the economic damages that occur from emitting one additional ton of carbon into the atmosphere. Following the mandate of a 2008 federal court ruling, it was included in the required analysis of costs and benefits for federal regulatory review of major rules with climate impacts; however, the Trump Administration removed the requirement.

EO 13990 mandated an interagency process to provide an estimate of the SCC that reflects the “best available science” by January 2022.  It also posed a number of important questions to consider.  How can the measure take into account climate risks, environmental justice, and intergenerational equity? In addition to regulatory review,  should the SCC be used in other applications? How should it be updated to take into account the best available science as it evolves?

Join the Environmental Law Institute and leading experts as they explore the key elements of the social cost of carbon, including:  what is at stake with regulatory, and potential other, uses of the social cost of carbon?  How should risks, distributional and intergenerational impacts be taken into account? What updating process should be used to ensure incorporation of the best possible science?

Panelists:
Carol Adaire Jones, Ph.D., Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Institute, Moderator
Rachel Cleetus, Ph.D., Policy Director and Lead Economist, Climate and Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists
Richard Newell, Ph.D., President and CEO, Resources for the Future
Steven Rose, Ph.D., Senior Research Economist, Electric Power Research Institute
Ann Wolverton, Ph.D., Senior Research Economist, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Materials:
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