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Federal agencies can use social cost of carbon — for now

May 27, 2022

The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency request to block the Biden administration’s use of a key climate metric, effectively preserving federal agencies’ ability to account for the costs of heat-trapping emissions — at least for the time being.

Yesterday, the justices declined to intervene and reinstate a Louisiana district court order that had blocked the administration from using the interim social cost of greenhouse gases to help set federal policy (Greenwire, May 26).

The metric puts a dollar figure on the costs of releasing emissions. Under the Biden administration, the value for carbon dioxide is about $51 per metric ton, a sharp reversal of the Trump administration’s $1 per metric ton.

A spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget said the administration was “of course very pleased with the Supreme Court’s order.”

“Properly accounting for the harms caused by greenhouse gas emissions is critical to our work to reduce energy costs and protect Americans from the growing impacts of climate change, which is already costing American communities and businesses billions of dollars in mitigation and response,” the OMB spokesperson said.

• https://www.eenews.net/articles/federal-agencies-can-use-social-cost-of-carbon-for-now/