In the NewsGristJanuary 25, 2021

This one number could alter how the US handles climate change

Biden’s executive order reconvenes that group and directs it to put out interim numbers that agencies should use for the social cost of carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide within 30 days. The group must also develop final numbers by the end of the year. The interagency group will have a chance not only to address the issues the National Academies raised, but also to incorporate the last four years’ worth of science into the numbers. Economists who study the social cost of carbon say that when all of the latest research is taken into account, the number is likely to go up. Researchers from the Climate Impact Lab recently made an argument for the social cost of carbon to land at $125 per ton.