POLITICO/E&E News: “4 Things to Know about EPA‘s New Climate Damage Metric”
An article in E&E News and POLITICO‘s Power Switch newsletter quote RFF Fellow Brian Prest.
E&E News
“Higher social cost values are likely to help the Biden administration make the case that stricter climate rules are justified, even if they come at some cost to regulated industry.
‘If you use a de minimis number, it’s very hard to compellingly argue that ambitious regulations are cost-benefit justified,’ noted Brian Prest, a fellow at Resources for the Future.
A higher carbon value can also help tip the scales in favor of a stronger regulatory option that delivers greater net benefits, he said.”
POLITICO
“Agencies will also be able to use new, higher estimates for the so-called social cost of greenhouse gases in rules, budgets, project assessments and other actions. EPA finalized the metrics last month, and the White House has given other agencies the green light to adopt it.
‘I think it would be quite big if it were used for lease sales and in procurement,’ said Brian Prest, a fellow at Resources for the Future. ‘But I think that depends on to what degree these finalized estimates for the EPA are then picked up by other agencies.’”
