Full Title: Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases: Issues for Congress
Author(s): Kate C. Shouse
Publisher(s): Congressional Research Service
Publication Date: June 7, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” It contains directives to update the social cost of greenhouse gases (SC-GHG), a tool that agencies have typically used to estimate the benefits of GHG reductions.
SC-GHG estimates have informed decision-making on federal actions, including GHG-related rules, since 2008. Members of Congress have taken divergent views on the adequacy and use of the SC-GHG. Some Members of Congress have questioned whether the SC-GHG methodology was consistent with federal guidance. Others have raised concerns that the SC-GHG estimates are outdated and that they underestimated climate benefits. The SC-GHG remains a topic of interest in the 117th Congress as the Biden Administration updates the estimates and implements its climate change directives.