A coalition of twelve states, including Arizona, Ohio, Nebraska, are suing President Joe Biden. The rebellion of Republican officials against the Democratic guidelines continues.
U.S. President Joe Biden has been sued by a twelve-state coalition with Republican attorneys general over the executive order he signed in January aimed at protecting the environment and curbing the climate crisis.
Who is suing?
The plaintiff states are Arkansas, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. Prosecutors in these states, of conservative ideology, believe that Biden does not have the constitutional authority to implement rules on greenhouse gas emissions, but that this is a task for Congress.
What did Biden order?
Hours after taking the oath of office, Biden signed Executive Order 13990, which asks federal agencies to calculate the social cost of greenhouse gas pollution.
And what is the social cost?
The social cost is the cost that society has to face for the operation of a company. This is measured by the effects that the production of an economic activity can have on society, which can be both negative and positive. For these purposes we call them externalities.
An example of positive externality is education, as it brings many benefits to the population. While a negative externality can be found in the purchase of a new car that emits gases. This has a negative cost to society in the long run due to gas emissions and the effects they can have on people’s health.
That being said, what Biden wants to do is make a projection to assess the pros and cons of carbon emissions and from that assessment to be able to set a new dollar rate for carbon dioxide, methane and carbon emissions. nitrous oxide.
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All this implies that companies that use non-renewable energy, such as those linked to agricultural productivity, would see an increase in their spending if they do not switch to a more planet-friendly process. And Republicans believe they could lose thousands of jobs that way.
Experts have long been arguing about what the exact cost per tonne of carbon released into the atmosphere should be. Progressives point out, grounded in science, that it should be much higher than it is today. Conservatives, backed by the desires of industries, say the risks of climate change are being overestimated, and therefore the costs of carbon emissions and the benefits of regulations are being inflated.
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“Establishing the‘ social cost ’of greenhouse gases is an intrinsically speculative, policy-laden and indeterminate task, which involves trying to predict unknown contingencies such as future human migrations, international conflicts and global catastrophes for hundreds of years into the future. Assigning these values is a legislative action par excellence that falls within the exclusive authority of Congress, ”says the lawsuit filed.
But these “unknown contingencies” that Republicans cite are not so unknown after all. The effects of climate change on the planet are obvious, only the Conservatives want to deny them to keep non-renewable energy-related businesses afloat.
Former President Donald Trump dismantled the inter-agency working group of experts studying the social cost of greenhouse gases. It also reduced the value of the metric ton of carbon dioxide to about $ 1 to $ 6, when the team of experts had placed it at $ 45.
This price was used for numerous regulatory processes on gas emissions. This certainly brought benefits to large companies, but a huge cost to humanity and especially to future generations. In 2020, the United States experienced a record 22 extreme weather disasters. The change, moreover, was driven by false arguments and ideological movements that were unaware of the reality of the danger of gas emissions.
Biden now wants to raise the cost per metric ton of carbon dioxide to $ 51. This new estimate would lead to stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. But it is still not enough. During the four years of the Trump administration, with the abrupt and dangerous adjustment of the social cost that was made without regard to scientific evidence, the world wasted time, and the United States lagged behind in the struggle. against climate change. The price at which the metric ton of carbon dioxide should be should be $ 125, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Republican lawsuits against Biden only seek to ruin a plan that is expected to build a green and sustainable economy to benefit future generations and all Americans. However, this is the danger of passing such a project through an executive order that can be questioned in federal courts. In order for Biden to move forward on his agenda he needs these projects to go through Congress.
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