The Cost of Climate Pollution

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Issues State-Wide Guidance Using the IWG SCC

hNew York Climate Policy Internal Guidance November 2020

• Application

  For use by state agencies, in particular for "describing the global value of policies, programs, or projects or for estimating global damages in an assessment of benefits and costs." 1

• Date

  November 2020

• Details

  The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act ("CLCPA") directs the the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") to establish a value of carbon for use by state agencies. 2

  On October 28, 2020, DEC published its draft guidance, Establishing a Value for Carbon: Guidelines for Use by State Agencies. The Department specifically recommends "the use of the U.S. Interagency Working Group’s (IWG) damages-based value of carbon, also referred to as the social cost of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide." 3  

• SCC Value(s)

  DEC recommends that agencies use a range of discount rates from 1% to 3% or a central value using a discount rate of 2% or 2.5%.  For year 2020 emissions, this means a value of carbon dioxide of $53-421 per ton, with a central value of $79-125 per ton; a value of methane of $1,527-6,578 per ton, with a central value of $2,036-2,782 per ton; and a value of nitrous oxide of $19,084-140,766 per ton, with a central value of $27,989-44,727 per ton. 3  

• Reference

  DEC, Establishing a Value for Carbon: Guidelines for Use by State Agencies (Oct. 28, 2020). 5

• Legal Authority

  Required under N.Y. Pub. Law. § 75-0113(1), Value of Carbon.

• Status

  Public comments on draft guidance are due on November 27, 2020.

1. NYSDEC, Establishing a Value of Carbon at 5 (2020), https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/vocguidrev.pdf. ↩︎
2. N.Y. Pub. Law. § 75-0113(1), Value of Carbon. ↩︎
3. NYSDEC, Establishing a Value for Carbon at 3 (2020). ↩︎
4. NYSDEC, Establishing a Value for Carbon at 3 (2020). ↩︎
5. Available at: https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/vocguid.pdf. ↩︎

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