The Joe biden administration has once again put a pause on new leases and permits for federal oil and gas drilling after a judge blocked the administration from using a metric that estimates the societal cost of carbon emissions. Over the social cost of carbon, a metric that uses economic models to put a value on each ton of carbon dioxide emitted. The idea is to quantify the economic harm caused by the climate crisis.

          US District Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana issued an injunction preventing the Biden administration from social cost of carbon in decisions around oil and gas drilling on public land, or in rules governing fossil fuel emissions. The ruling has consequences for a range of Biden administration actions on climate change, but especially on the Interior Department's federal oil and gas leasing program.

          The Interior Department has assessed program components that incorporate the interim guidance on social cost of carbon analysis from the Interagency Working Group, and delays are expected in permitting and leasing for the oil and gas programs, Schwartz said in a statement.

          Joe Biden continues to move forward with reforms to address the significant shortcomings in the nation's onshore and offshore oil and gas programs," including assessing climate impacts and reforming royalty rates for taxpayers.

 

 

Reference

 https://cnn.com/2022/02/21/us/biden-climate-social-cost-of-carbon-court/index.html