Peter Howard and Denise Grab both provided testimony at an April 25 New Jersey State Legislature hearing on climate change mitigation and what the state can do to address greenhouse gas emissions. They discussed how New Jersey can contextualize and weigh climate impacts by using the social cost of greenhouse gases.
Howard and Grab testified before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and the Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee, discussing the rationale behind social cost of greenhouse gas metrics and explaining how monetizing the impacts of emissions helps inform decisionmakers on the consequences of regulatory choices. Their testimony encouraged New Jersey to use the Interagency Working Group’s 2016 estimates, which currently reflect the best available science and economics.
Howard and Grab also focused on the variety of energy and environmental applications for the social cost of greenhouse gases, providing specific recommendations for ways policymakers, agencies, and electricity regulators can better value climate impacts. They cited policies in other states that apply social cost of greenhouse gases metrics, such as the California Air Resources Board’s 2030 Climate Scoping Plan and New York’s Zero-Emissions Credit Program for nuclear generators. Howard and Grab also directed the hearing participants to our reports on the social cost of greenhouse gases in state policy and future state-level opportunities for valuing climate impacts, as well as our website on the cost of carbon pollution.
You can read Howard and Grab’s testimony, or listen to the full hearing.