Current:Home > MyEPA's proposal to raise the cost of carbon is a powerful tool and ethics nightmare-LoTradeCoin
EPA's proposal to raise the cost of carbon is a powerful tool and ethics nightmare
View Date:2024-12-24 11:24:46
One of the most important tools that the federal government has for cracking down on greenhouse gas emissions is a single number: the social cost of carbon. It represents all the costs to humanity of emitting one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, including everything from the cost of lost crops and flooded homes to the cost of lost wages when people can't safely work outside and, finally, the cost of climate-related deaths.
Currently, the cost is $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted.
NPR climate correspondent Rebecca Hersher tells Short Wave co-host Aaron Scott that the number is getting an update soon. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed raising the cost to $190. The change could dramatically alter how the government confronts climate change.
"That's a move in the right direction," says Daniel Hemel, a law professor at New York University who studies these cost benefit analyses.
But the new, more accurate number is also an ethics nightmare.
Daniel and other experts are worried about a specific aspect of the calculation: The way the EPA thinks about human lives lost to climate change. The number newly accounts for climate-related deaths around the world, but does not factor in every death equally.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Got questions or story ideas? Email the show at [email protected].
This episode was produced by Margaret Cirino, edited by our supervising producer Rebecca Ramirez, and fact-checked by Anil Oza. Katherine Silva was the audio engineer.
veryGood! (19121)
Related
- Judge sets date for 9/11 defendants to enter pleas, deepening battle over court’s independence
- Zimbabwe’s opposition says the country is going in ‘a dangerous direction’ after activist’s killing
- Ousted Texas bishop rallies outside US bishops meeting as his peers reinforce Catholic voter values
- 'Our boat is sinking!': Woman killed after double-decker ferry sinks in Bahamas
- Golden Bachelorette: Joan Vassos Gets Engaged During Season Finale
- British Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets Zelenskyy in first overseas visit as top UK diplomat
- Plant-based meat is a simple solution to climate woes - if more people would eat it
- MLB team owners set to vote Thursday on proposed relocation of Athletics to Las Vegas
- New Yorkers vent their feelings over the election and the Knicks via subway tunnel sticky notes
- Jimmy Kimmel Returning to Host Oscars 2024
Ranking
- Kirk Herbstreit berates LSU fans throwing trash vs Alabama: 'Enough is enough, clowns'
- The odyssey of asylum-seekers and the failure of EU regulations
- Potential kingmaker in Dutch coalition talks comes out against anti-Islam firebrand Wilders
- 'Next Goal Wins' roots for the underdogs
- Mississippi woman pleads guilty to stealing Social Security funds
- Israel and Switzerland draw 1-1 in Euro 2024 qualifying game in Hungary
- How a hatred of go-go music led to a $100,000 Maryland Lottery win for former Baltimore cop
- Fresh off meeting with China’s Xi, Biden is turning his attention to Asia-Pacific economies
Recommendation
-
Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families
-
Emboldened by success in other red states, effort launched to protect abortion rights in Nebraska
-
The Best Early Black Friday Bra Deals from Victoria’s Secret, Savage X Fenty, Calvin Klein & More
-
Travis Scott Reflects on Devastating Astroworld Tragedy
-
Eva Longoria calls US 'dystopian' under Trump, has moved with husband and son
-
'Next Goal Wins' roots for the underdogs
-
Former WWE Star Gabbi Tuft Shares Transition Journey After Coming Out as Transgender
-
Long-haul carrier Emirates orders 15 Airbus A350 after engine dispute during Dubai Air Show