Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products and Commercial and Industrial Equipment: Effect of Revised Estimates of the Social Cost of Carbon

Résumé

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has, for several years, used monetary values for the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) to estimate the value to society of reducing carbon emissions that could result from rulemakings establishing energy conservation standards for residential appliances and industrial equipment. In recent standards rulemakings for microwave oven standby and off modes, metal halide lighting fixtures, commercial refrigeration equipment, walk-in coolers and freezers, and furnace fans, DOE used SCC values developed by an interagency group and released to the public in May 2013 by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB has issued updated SCC values that reflect minor technical corrections to the estimates that were released in May 2013. The purpose of this notice is to show the impact of these updated values on the national economic benefits projected to result from the proposed standards for commercial refrigeration equipment, walk-in coolers and freezers, metal halide lighting fixtures, and furnace fans.