Bill moves to separate social cost of carbon metric from energy regulations

U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (N.C.) introduced companion legislation along with five House Republicans.

“Using the ‘social cost of carbon’ to justify burdensome, costly energy regulations will deal another blow to American families, farmers, and small businesses that are already facing crushing inflation and skyrocketing energy prices,” said Blunt.

“If a new regulation is needed for the health and safety of Americans, and falls within the appropriate jurisdiction of the department or agency issuing it, the administration should be able to defend that regulation on the merits,” he continued. “Relying on the ‘social cost of carbon’ is a transparent effort to invent new ways to enact a radical, green-energy agenda that Americans cannot afford.”

“Oklahomans want clean air, land, and water. But the ‘social cost of carbon’ was created without transparency for the public or the industries it impacts. It has no basis in reality,” said Lankford. “The social cost of carbon has a big impact on every Oklahoma family and their pocketbook since it is used to justify many parts of Democrats’ illegitimate, progressive climate-change scheme that increases the cost of gasoline, electricity, and other goods..”

In addition to Blunt and Lankford, the bill was introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators  Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Roger Marshall of Kansas, among others. 

“President Biden and his administration are so focused on peddling their far-left policies, they can’t be bothered to take time to address real issues like the border crisis or inflation,” Inhofe said. “Their development of the social cost of greenhouse gases like methane, carbon and nitrous oxide is severely flawed, and using it to inform the energy and environmental regulatory process will increase costs on American families.

“The Obama-era ‘social cost’ measurement resulted in costly regulations and job losses across the energy sector. Now, President Biden is continuing his war against American energy by reinstating this arbitrary metric,” said Cotton. “Our bill will prohibit the use of ‘social costs’ as justification for any regulations from the EPA or FERC.”

“This Administration will use any tool at their disposal in their relentless and damaging war against American energy. Bogus emergency declarations, phony greenhouse gas metrics like the ‘social cost of carbon,’ nothing is off the table,” said Marshall. “The pain Americans are feeling at the pump and when they pay their electricity bills is real. President Biden is not serious about tackling inflation, so it is up to Congress to act. Stopping destructive regulations needs to be at the top of our list.”

These social cost of greenhouse gas metrics are theoretical measurements to try to put a price or economic impact on emissions. The measurement theories have been used in the federal government to determine the economic impact of potential federal regulations, even though they are unscientific and can result in more burdensome regulations.

The bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from using the social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, and social cost of nitrous oxide as rationales for their regulations.