The social cost of carbon

Introduction:

Social cost of carbon is the marginal cost of emitting one extra tonne of carbon dioxide at any point in time. It refers to the estimate of the monetary value of worldwide damage done by carbon dioxide emissions. Social cost is the cost to society as a whole from an event, action, or policy change. It includes negative externalities and does not count costs that are transfer to others, in contrast to private cost.

As we all know that CO2 is the oxidized form of carbon, and is the major greenhouse gas implicated in projections of global warming. The social cost is the damage done by carbon dioxide emissions. Greenhouse gases have long residence times in the atmosphere. So that climate damage today and in the near future is the result mainly of past, irreversible emissions.

An electricity generation plant also emits CO2 that increase global warming. Electricity production also causes some water and air pollution, and also consumes a lot of water then posing a risk to water-dwelling animals.

Significance of social cost of carbon:

It is vital to regulate CO2 emissions to work towards climate stabilization. The more CO2 in the atmosphere, hotter the average global temperature. Current trends unaltered imply a rising average temperature by as much as 6 degree within this century.

Every ton of CO2, that we can keep out of the atmosphere slows climate change and reduces the risk of the worst kind of damage. But reducing emissions carries a cost. If the ton of CO2 is in big number that we release into atmosphere, cost us in damages, then we will make great efforts to reduce to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If it is a smaller number the case for reduction is weaker.

Social carbon cost is a measure of the benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions now and thereby avoiding costs in the future. As a very simple example, if emissions damage coral reefs, which in turn discourages tourists from visiting Australia, one cost incurred will be lost revenue to the tourist industry. Avoiding that cost is a benefit.

Discussions:

Carbon dioxide and Global Warming:

CO2 is one of many heat trapping greenhouse gases (GHGs). The human induced greenhouse gas emissions are the primary cause of global warming. Worldwide, 27 billion tons of carbon dioxide is produced by human activity annually. The physical of CO2 in the atmosphere can be measured as a change in the earth atmosphere system’s energy balance.

To calculate the social cost of carbon, the atmospheric residence time of CO2 must be estimated, along with an estimate of the impacts of climate change. The impact of the extra ton of CO2 in the atmosphere must then be converted to the equivalent impacts when the ton of CO2 was emitted.

An amount of CO2 pollution is measured by the weight (mass) of the pollution. Sometimes this is measured directly is the weight of the CO2 molecules. This is called ton of CO2 and is abbreviated “TCO2”. Alternately, the pollution’s weight can be measured by adding up only the weight of the carbon items in the pollution, ignoring the oxygen atoms. This is called a ton of carbon and is abbreviation as “tC”.

Carbon Tax:

A carbon tax is an indirect tax. It is also called a price instrument, since it sets a price for CO2 emissions. The government collects the taxes and can use the revenue for virtually any purpose, like investment in climate protection.

A tax on the use of fossil fuels, proposed in 1992 by European Commission, aimed at reducing consumption of fossil fuel: to lessen the output of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and thus counter the dangers of climate change. Denmark and Netherland had already pioneered such taxes and a carbon tax was introduced in U.K. in 1999.

The carbon tax has been implemented under the United Nations framework convention on climate change.

Africa

Asia

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Newzealand

Europe

France

Switzerland

America

Government regulations:

A government agency can set technology impose performance such as emissions limits. Such regulations are generally guided by cost-benefit calculations; a policy is approved if its cost per ton of CO2 eliminated is less than the carbon price and rejected as uneconomical if its per ton cost is more than carbon price.

Ethical issues:

Some of the serious anticipated damages from climate change, such as loss of endangered species, unique habitats and environments and human lives and communities cannot be reasonably quantified that how valuable they really are.

The Back Story:

Ø A ton of CO2 is the basic unit of emissions for climate policy, but it may be hard to Visualize — especially since it’s a colorless, odorless gas that mixes into the air around us. In the United States, one ton of CO2 is emitted, on average, by:

· A family car every two and half months.

· A household’s use of heating and cooking fuel every four months.

· A household’s use of electricity every six weeks.

· The typical use of a microwave oven every seven years or of a refrigerator

Ø U.S. residents emitted 21 tons of CO2 per person in 2005: 33 percent from transportation, 15 percent from residential electricity, 6 percent from home heating and cooking, and the remaining 46 percent from industry, retail stores, and government.

Ø The purpose of emission reductions is to limit the change in average global temperature and related climate conditiwould put the world at too high a risk of catastrophic, irreversible consequences. Already, CO2 concentrations are well above pre-industrial levels, and CO2, once emitted, stays in the atmosphere for a long time. This means that even if we could immediately stop all greenhouse gas emissions, there would still be a gradual temperature increase over the next century. The more we can slow down that increase, the easier it will be for human societies to adapt with careful planning and new technologies. Every ton of CO2 that we can keep out of the atmosphere slows climate change, helps to hold temperatures under that 2°C threshold, and reduces the risk of the worst kinds of damage. But reducing emissions also carries a cost — including the price ofons; many scientists believe that any warming beyond 2°C (3.6°F)

Ø The social cost of carbon may be the most important number you’ve never heard of. U.S. climate legislation is stalled in Congress, but in the meantime, the Obama administration is trying to fill the gap by considering climate impacts in the regulatory process: from the tailpipe emissions limits and gas mileage standards unveiled April 1, to energy-efficiency standards for many types of residential appliances and commercial equipment.

Ø This is important work; U.S. action to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is long overdue, and it’s crucial in the global picture, both because of our large share of total emissions, and because of our ability to influence other nations. But it’s also important to do this right, and a look at how the administration has handled the social cost of carbon (SCC) raises some serious concerns.

Conclusion:

In conclusion I would like to say that there is so much quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere emitted by us which creates so many problems for us like pollution, global warming etc. so we all should try our best to control the excess use of such things that emit CO2. The government should make the strict rules regarding this.

“There is a need for policies to address the crucial but unmonitored aspects of climate impacts and to face the ethical choices raised by these impacts.”