A group of nine Republican senators called on a White House panel Thursday to divulge the ways its pending social cost of carbon rule could affect federal decision making, budgeting, and procurement.

 

The lack of transparency from the interagency working group has left Congress, businesses, and state and local governments in the dark on potential impacts to the economy and labor market, according to the letter reviewed by Bloomberg Law and led by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), the ranking member on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

 

The social cost of carbon is the estimated cost to society of releasing a ton of planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The figure takes into account estimates such as lost agricultural productivity, property damages from strong storms, and diminished fresh water availability.

 

Regulatory agencies can use the metric to help weigh costs and benefits of new or strengthened regulations, which can make it easier for agencies to justify more stringent, and possibly more costly, regulations.

 

Unclear Use

 

The White House Office of Management and Budget has said it’s committed to engaging with “diverse stakeholders” to ensure any new climate metrics address not only climate risks but also environmental justice and equity for future generations.

 

But it’s still unclear how the government will use estimates of societal impacts from emissions in the revamped environmental review and permitting requirements unveiled by the White House Council on Environmental Quality Oct. 6.

 

CEQ made only a passing reference to the ongoing effort to account for current and future greenhouse gas impacts. Its proposal said only that agencies may find the cost “helpful” when weighing climate-related impacts of projects and alternatives to mitigate emissions.

 

‘Opaque Decision-Making’

 

The working group asked for public comments in the spring, but some groups have complained that they won’t get to see the panel’s approach until after it’s released. The groups include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Chemistry Council, National Mining Association, and American Petroleum Institute.

 

“The opaque decision-making process this administration has chosen on this significant issue will result in policies that ultimately hurt American consumers who are already facing rising energy and grocery prices, slow economic growth, and uncontrolled inflation,” the lawmakers wrote.

 

“We need to know whether, how, and when the administration plans to use these figures moving forward,” the letter continued.

 

The lawmakers asked the working group to provide answers by Nov. 11.

 

In the meantime, the EPA and other agencies have already started using social cost of carbon calculations in their regulatory actions, according to the letter.

 

Lapsed Deadline

 

An executive order signed by President Joe Biden set a deadline of Sept. 1 for the working group to provide its recommendations to the White House. But that deadline has lapsed, and “no insights have been offered to Congress or the American public on when and what to expect in these recommendations,” the lawmakers wrote.

 

The other signatories, who all rank as the top Republicans on various committees, include Sens. John Boozman (R-Ark.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

 

The working group in February set an interim figure of $51 per ton as the social, health, and economic cost of emissions. That move was a sharp reversal from the Trump administration’s posture, which set the social cost of carbon as low as $1 a ton.

 

Final price tags for carbon dioxide and two other greenhouse gases are expected in January, and are expected to be significantly higher than $51.

 

—With assistance from Dean Scott.