How
Do We Define the Cost to Society of Climate Pollution? By
Elizabeth Shogren, High Country News, 1/27/16. “In a 2007 [U.S. Court of
Appeals] ruling on a dispute concerning fuel economy standards for cars, a
judge sent a clear message to federal agencies. They could no longer continue
business as usual and fail to account for climate change when assessing the
costs and benefits of regulations… Judge Betty B. Fletcher’s ruling challenged
government officials to come up with a dollar amount that represents how much a
ton of carbon pollution will ‘cost’ society over the long run. Economists refer
to this as the social cost of carbon. The concept is still evolving
and will only become more important to understand as governments grapple with
how to address climate change in the most effective and least costly manner…
“In early
2009 White House officials decided… to develop a unified way for agencies to
estimate the social cost of carbon… The interagency group turned to academic
researchers who had been studying the economics of climate change.. The
government opted to utilize three widely-used models, taking the average of the
three to derive the federal government’s official estimate. First, the models
estimate how a metric ton of carbon pollution will impact concentrations of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Second, the models estimate how those
concentrations will affect temperature on Earth. Third, they analyze how
increases in temperature will translate into a range of impacts such as the loss
of usable dry land because of sea level rise; stresses to agriculture from
droughts; and increased need for air conditioning… the interagency working
group asked advice from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering
and Medicine, which
appointed a group of engineers, climate scientists and economists to review the
government’s estimates and consider ways to update the methodology. Its first
report, in January 2016, did not recommend any major short-term changes but
suggested ways to better communicate uncertainties. A more comprehensive and
final report is expected in 2017.”
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