White House explains how it revised ‘social cost of carbon’

The White House on Tuesday released a 22-page document that explains the methodology behind the recent revision to its "social cost of carbon” estimate. The Obama Administration in May revised upward the metric used to evaluate changes in rules regarding greenhouse gas emissions from $23.80 per ton of carbon to $38 per ton. Industry groups will no doubt welcome the gesture of transparency, but simply explaining the methodology is unlikely to deter those who are fighting to keep these estimates out of federal policymaking. The House of Representatives voted in August to prohibit the EPA from using the "social cost of carbon” estimate for any energy-related regulation costing more $1 billion unless a special law is passed to authorize it. The White House kicked off a 60-day public comment period related to its estimate, though some lawmakers have asked the administration to extend it to 120 days.

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