The Benefits Of Obama’s Climate Plan

Posted by | August 5, 2015 07:30 | Filed under: Contributors Opinion Planet Stuart Shapiro

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President Obama’s climate plan unveiled yesterday is one of the most significant actions of his two terms.  Cass Sunstein explains the significance:

The benefits come in two categories, the first of which is public health. In the next 15 years, the new rules are expected to bring about a large-scale shift from coal-fired power plants to cleaner sources, including natural gas, wind and solar. By 2030, when the rules are fully in force, the result will be significant decreases in air pollution — including cuts of about 200,000 tons in emissions of both sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

In strictly monetary terms, that’s expected to save $12 billion to $32 billion a year by preventing more than 2,000 premature deaths and significantly reducing nonfatal heart attacks, acute bronchitis in children, emergency hospital visits for asthma, and missed work and school days.

The second category of benefits follow from the rule’s main objective: to reduce greenhouse gases. By 2030, more than 400 million tons of carbon emissions are to be eliminated. The monetized benefit of this reduction, given a “social cost of carbon” of about $48 per ton, turns out to be about $20 billion

No doubt the rule has significant costs but the benefits are even larger.

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Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Stuart Shapiro

Stuart is a professor and the Director of the Public Policy
program at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers
University. He teaches economics and cost-benefit analysis and studies
regulation in the United States at both the federal and state levels.
Prior to coming to Rutgers, Stuart worked for five years at the Office
of Management and Budget in Washington under Presidents Clinton and
George W. Bush.

2 responses to The Benefits Of Obama’s Climate Plan

  1. Roctuna August 5th, 2015 at 21:52

    I’ve pointed out the significance of the rate of increase in CO2 many times in this forum. Let’s give Bill Nye a crack at it

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfoGKjFguZI

  2. Tommie August 6th, 2015 at 00:37

    If we don’t want to look like China, maybe the right might want to listen! IMO!

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