What Carbon Costs Us
Appropriately valuing the cost of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to society is critical to good long-term decision-making in the energy industry and other key economic sectors. The social cost of carbon (SCC) developed by the US Interagency Working Group and used to evaluate the climate benefits of rulemaking by various federal agencies is calculated using flawed methodology, and likely underestimates the true cost of climate damages. In an op-ed for EPS Quarterly, Synapse staff discuss the limitations of the methodology used by the Working Group and why it is important that the figure is calibrated to our best, most up-to-date scientific understanding of our climate crisis. "What Carbon Costs Us" was published in the December 2014 issue of EPS Quarterly.