ADMIN. TO SEEK PUBLIC COMMENT ON SOCIAL COST OF CARBON

Karen Frantz
GHG Monitor
11/08/13

The Obama Administration has decided to seek public comment on its Social Cost of Carbon values—used to estimate the societal value of reducing carbon emissions—reversing course after months of outcry from Republicans and industry groups over the revised estimates released in May. “In response to public and stakeholder interest in SCC values, [the Office of Management and Budget’s] Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will provide a new opportunity for public comment on the estimates in addition to the public comment opportunities already available through particular rulemakings,” wrote Howard Shelanski, administrator of OIRA, in a blog post on the office’s website this week. Shelanski added that the office is issuing updated SCC values, reflecting “minor technical corrections” to the earlier estimates that include setting the value at $37 per metric ton of carbon dioxide in 2015, down from the $38 per metric ton estimate released in May.

The Administration’s shift is an apparent win for detractors of the revised SCC, who banded together to oppose the May changes on the grounds that the government did not release the standards for public comment before being released. The House has passed a bill that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from using the SCC estimates until Congress reviews the issue, and a half dozen trade groups representing large emitters sent a petition of correction to OMB calling on the Administration to withdraw the estimates until it could kick off a “transparent, public process” to determine new figures.

The Administration had defended the SCC updates and argued that they do not constitute rulemaking and subsequently do not have to be open to public comment. Shelanski reiterated support for the updated SCC values in his blog post this week. “The May 2013 estimates reflect values that are similar to those used by other governments, international institutions and major corporations. Those estimates have been out for public comment in several proposed rulemakings since May, and agencies have already received comments that are under review,” he wrote.