Full Title: The Social Costs of Carbon? No, the Social Benefits of Carbon
Author(s): Management Information Services, Inc.
Publisher(s): American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
Publication Date: January 1, 2014
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
This report analyzes the impacts and benefits of carbon dioxide (CO2) and then compares these to estimates of the social cost of carbon (SCC) that have been published by the U.S. federal government. CO2 is the basis of life on Earth, it facilitates plant growth, and enhances agricultural productivity. It is the primary raw material utilized by plants to produce the organic matter out of which they construct their tissues, which subsequently become the ultimate source of food. Of primary importance, the successful development and utilization of fossil fuels, which generate CO2, facilitated successive industrial revolutions, created the modern world, and enabled the high quality of life currently taken for granted. There is a strong causal relationship between world GDP and CO2 emissions over the past two centuries, and this relationship is forecast to continue for the foreseeable future. We compared these indirect CO2 benefits to the SCC estimates.