In late March 2021 the Biden administration revised the social cost of carbon to $51 per ton, up from about $1 per ton under Trump administration estimates. The new estimate is based on the determination framework laid out in the 2017 report by the National Academies on estimating the social cost of carbon, which incorporates projections of scientific and socioeconomic trends to value the net damages from climate change created by a 1-ton increase in CO2 emissions. Some climate economists believe the framework should be adapted to further reflect the disproportionate impacts of climate on vulnerable communities. To what extent does the social cost of carbon affect regulation and innovation? How are the social cost of carbon and the growth of voluntary carbon markets viewed by institutions across the research enterprise? What are the properties of a successful carbon market? What other economic policy measures might be used to drive corporate emission reduction commitments?

During this meeting, GUIRR members and guests heard presentations on the impact of the social cost of carbon on regulation and innovation, and on the preceptions and realities of carbon markets in the U.S. and globally.

Speakers
Richard Newell, President and CEO of Resources for the Future
Richard Sandor, Chairman and CEO of the American Financial Exchange and Aaron Director Lecturer in Law and Economics at the University of Chicago Law School