The social cost of carbon is a critical economic metric used by the US government to estimate the long term damage caused by one ton of CO2 emissions. By translating environmental harm into dollar amounts, this figure determines the feasibility of fuel economy standards, power plant permits, and emissions regulations. Recent research and shifting political administrations have caused this value to fluctuate wildly, from as low as $1 to over $190 per ton. These changes depend on whether damages are calculated globally or domestically and which discount rate is applied to future losses, directly impacting the stringency of federal climate action.
