WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) joined 12 Republican Senators in introducing the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulation Act that would prohibit the federal government from using the flawed social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, social cost of nitrous oxide, or the social cost of any other greenhouse gas metrics when creating regulations.
“My home state of Wyoming is the largest net energy exporter in the United States, and the Biden Administration using the ‘social cost of carbon’ in setting regulations is crippling to not only Wyoming, but our entire country,” said Lummis. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act to prevent President Biden from using this misguided metric in determining the costs and benefits of proposed regulatory action.”
These social costs of greenhouse gas metrics are theoretical measurements to try to put a price or economic impact on emissions. Even though they are unscientific and can result in more burdensome regulations, the measurement theories have been used in the federal government to determine the economic impact of potential federal regulations. This bill would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Interior Department, the Council on Environmental Quality, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Department of the Treasury, the US Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Health and Human Services from using the social cost of carbon, social cost of methane, and social cost of nitrous oxide as rationales for their regulations.
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