Report of House Appropriations Committee Advises DOE Not to Use Social Cost of Carbon in Rulemaking

In its report on the 2018 Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, issued on July 11, 2017, the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations indicated that:

The Department [of Energy] should not promulgate any regulations in fiscal year 2018 using the May 2013 estimates for the social cost of carbon until a new working group is convened. The working group should include the relevant agencies and affected stakeholders, re-examine the social cost of carbon using the best available science, and revise the estimates using an accurate discount rate and domestic estimate in accordance with E.O. 12866 and OMB Circular A–4. To increase transparency, the working group should solicit public comment prior to finalizing any updates.

Similar language has not been included in the draft appropriations bill. The report itself is not legally binding.