Supreme Court allows Biden administration to continue counting the costs of planet-warming emissions

[Polybius]

Source: CNN

Supreme Court allows Biden administration to continue counting the costs of planet-warming emissions, for now

(CNN)The Supreme Court will allow the Biden administration to continue to use a metric that estimates the real-world cost of the climate crisis while legal challenges play out. The court's order is a loss for Republican-led states that argued in part that the estimates were "speculative."

The justices issued a one-line order and there were no noted dissents.

The metric, known as "the social cost of carbon," uses economic models to assign a cost to planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions to help quantify the economic harm caused by the climate crisis, including sea level rise, more destructive hurricanes, extreme wildfire seasons and flooding.

It is used in federal rules that regulate carbon emissions, or in decisions from the Department of Interior around oil and gas drilling on federal lands.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/26/politics/supreme-court-social-cost-of-carbon-ruling-climate/index.html

[progree]

1. $51/ton

On his first day in office, Biden set the metric back at $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions -- the same level set as the Obama administration.

For a regular natural gas power plant that comes to 2.8 cents/KWH = $28/MWH ... and so ...

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. The right wing states that brought the suit can't even imagine people wanted to save the environment

The Republican states -- led by Louisiana -- had argued that while the "stated purpose" of the estimates is to "try to approximate global harms to society from greenhouse gas emissions attendant to objects of regulated activities," they are really a "power grab" designed to "manipulate America's entire federal regulatory apparatus through speculative costs and benefits so that the Administration can impose its preferred policy outcomes on every sector of the American economy."

It is, to them, inconceivable that the "preferred policy outcomes" really are preventing "global harms to society from greenhouse gas emissions" - or they think they can convince their gullible voters of that, anyway. They, or the voters, are stuck in the conspiratorial mindset of "Democrats do everything for nefarious purposes". At least the Supreme Court is still willing to consider that preventing harm is a valid reason for a policy.

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. So Louisiana, you are saying that the administration that got elected

and ran on a certain policy and vision is now *GASP* actually trying to implement that policy? Perish the thought!

Will we be doing this every single time they enact laws that actually are power and money grabs? I wish we would. I would love to watch rethug governors and legislatures explaining how their new law that gives them money and power but removes the ability to even question them over it is not the exact same thing. And, we should do it for every single stupid greedy law they enact. Tie up every single piece of legislation in the courts. If they can do it, so can we.

[paleotn]

6. Policy objectives that might....MIGHT.....

keep half of Louisiana from becoming a remake of Waterworld? Seems they love money more than their children and grandchildren. Well, they do love their gunz too so I suppose that makes sense in some bizarre way.

Ironically, some of the red states supporting the suit will suffer far more from climate change than the blue states in the north. At present trend, they'll become nearly uninhabitable by mid to end century.

[SouthernDem4ever]

3. nice to know the SCOTUS is now making Science policy

they should have just rejected the case entirely.

[mucifer]

4. Holy crap they get to decide that? Is there any powers they don't have??