OMB’s Draft Cost-Benefit Guide Likely To Bolster Climate Mitigation Rules

White House regulatory officials’ new proposed update to cost-benefit review guidance contains several provisions that would solidify a robust social cost of carbon (SCC) metric used to calculate the benefits of policies that curb greenhouse gases, thus helping agencies to defend strong climate change rules. The provisions in the Office of Management & Budget’s (OMB) draft update to Circular A-4 address two key factors with outsize effect on the magnitude of the SCC’s climate damage estimates -- a relatively low...