II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1930 

To establish a cost of greenhouse gases for carbon dioxide, methane, and 

nitrous oxide to be used by Federal agencies, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2017 

Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. 

WHITEHOUSE, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. WARREN, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. HIRONO, and Mr. 

UDALL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To establish a cost of greenhouse gases for carbon dioxide, 

methane, and nitrous oxide to be used by Federal agencies, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pollution Trans5 parency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) sound economic and policy analyses require 

2 that the economic benefits of reducing climate 

3 change be considered together with the costs of poli4 cies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emis5 sions; 

6 (2) climate change, if not addressed, is pro7 jected to inflict substantial damage on the economy 

8 and people of the United States; 

9 (3) according to the Congressional Budget Of10 fice, the Government Accountability Office, and the 

11 Office of Management and Budget, the impacts of 

12 climate change are— 

13 (A) costing United States taxpayers bil14 lions of dollars annually; and 

15 (B) putting pressure on the Federal budg16 et; 

17 (4) the expenditures by the Federal Govern18 ment resulting from the effects of climate change 

19 are projected to increase, and reducing greenhouse 

20 gas emissions presents an opportunity to minimize 

21 those expenditures; 

22 (5) between calendar years 2008 and 2015, the 

23 United States reduced carbon pollution from the en24 ergy sector by nearly 10 percent, while the economy 

25 grew more than 10 percent; 


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1 (6) more than 1,200 companies are taking the 

2 cost of climate change into consideration in business 

3 decisions; 

4 (7) estimates of the costs of greenhouse gases 

5 provide a method and measure, grounded in sci6 entific and economic research, for monetizing— 

7 (A) the costs of greenhouse gas emissions; 

8 and 

9 (B) the benefits of reducing greenhouse 

10 gas emissions; 

11 (8) the National Academies of Sciences, Engi12 neering, and Medicine has provided detailed rec13 ommendations for improving the estimate of the 

14 costs of greenhouse gases for the purpose of regu15 latory analysis; 

16 (9) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions 

17 by other countries benefits the United States by re18 ducing climate risks to the United States, and the 

19 reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the United 

20 States benefits other countries; 

21 (10) in light of the global nature of the problem 

22 of greenhouse gas emissions, the interests of the 

23 United States would be maximized if the United 

24 States were to use a calculation method of the cost 

25 of climate pollution that reflects global damages; 


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1 (11) due to the nature of climate change risks, 

2 the returns on mitigation may pay off in periods 

3 that would otherwise involve substantial losses; 

4 (12) economic theory and evidence suggests 

5 that, for actions with intergenerational consequences 

6 such as the consequences of climate change, a dis7 count rate approximately equal to or less than the 

8 long-term yield on the debt of the Treasury of the 

9 United States may be appropriate; and 

10 (13) it is imperative that the academic commu11 nity continue research on the cost of greenhouse 

12 gases. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) CALCULATION METHOD.—The term ‘‘cal16 culation method’’ means the method by which the 

17 costs of greenhouse gases are calculated in accord18 ance with subsections (a), (b), and (c) of section 4, 

19 respectively. 

20 (2) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ 

21 means the Costs of Greenhouse Gases Scientific Re22 view Committee established under section 7(a). 

23 (3) COSTS OF GREENHOUSE GASES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘costs of 

25 greenhouse gases’’ means the monetized present 


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1 discounted values, in dollars, of the current and 

2 future net costs to society that result from— 

3 (i) 1 ton of emissions of a specific 

4 greenhouse gas in a specific year, including 

5 damage relating to— 

6 (I) a change in net agricultural 

7 productivity; 

8 (II) energy use; 

9 (III) human health; 

10 (IV) property damage from in11 creased flood risk and sea level rise; 

12 and 

13 (V) to the maximum extent prac14 ticable, the value of the effect on eco15 system services due to climate change; 

16 and 

17 (ii) the monetized present discounted 

18 values of the current and future net bene19 fits to society from a 1-ton reduction of 

20 emissions of a specific greenhouse gas in a 

21 specific year, including a reduction in any 

22 damage described in clause (i). 

23 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘costs of 

24 greenhouse gases’’ includes— 

25 (i) the cost of carbon dioxide; 


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1 (ii) the cost of methane; 

2 (iii) the cost of nitrous oxide; and 

3 (iv) the cost of any other greenhouse 

4 gas estimated by the Working Group. 

5 (4) WORKING GROUP.—The term ‘‘Working 

6 Group’’ means the Interagency Working Group on 

7 the Costs of Greenhouse Gases established under 

8 section 5(a). 

9 SEC. 4. COST OF CARBON DIOXIDE, COST OF METHANE, 

10 AND COST OF NITROUS OXIDE. 

11 (a) COST OF CARBON DIOXIDE.—In developing any 

12 rulemaking that requires a regulatory impact analysis, 

13 making any substantial procurement decision for which 

14 the cost of carbon dioxide is not applied before the date 

15 on which a revised version of the costs of greenhouse gases 

16 is finalized, the head of any Federal agency shall consider 

17 and document the cost of carbon dioxide in accordance 

18 with the amounts specified in the following table: 

Cost of Carbon Dioxide, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 

Dollars per Metric Ton of Carbon Dioxide), Discount Rate and Statistic 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2010 $10 $31 $50 $86

2011 $11 $32 $51 $90

2012 $11 $33 $53 $93


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Cost of Carbon Dioxide, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 

Dollars per Metric Ton of Carbon Dioxide), Discount Rate and Statistic—Continued 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2013 $11 $34 $54 $97

2014 $11 $35 $55 $101

2015 $11 $36 $56 $105

2016 $11 $38 $57 $108

2017 $11 $39 $59 $112

2018 $12 $40 $60 $116

2019 $12 $41 $61 $120

2020 $12 $42 $62 $123

2021 $12 $42 $63 $126

2022 $13 $43 $64 $129

2023 $13 $44 $65 $132

2024 $13 $45 $66 $135

2025 $14 $46 $68 $138

2026 $14 $47 $69 $141

2027 $15 $48 $70 $143

2028 $15 $49 $71 $146

2029 $15 $49 $72 $149

2030 $16 $50 $73 $152

2031 $16 $51 $74 $155

2032 $17 $52 $75 $158

2033 $17 $53 $76 $161

2034 $18 $54 $77 $164

2035 $18 $55 $78 $168

2036 $19 $56 $79 $171


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Cost of Carbon Dioxide, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 

Dollars per Metric Ton of Carbon Dioxide), Discount Rate and Statistic—Continued 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2037 $19 $57 $81 $174

2038 $20 $58 $82 $177

2039 $20 $59 $83 $180

2040 $21 $60 $84 $183

2041 $21 $61 $85 $186

2042 $22 $61 $86 $189

2043 $22 $62 $87 $192

2044 $23 $63 $88 $194

2045 $23 $64 $89 $197

2046 $24 $65 $90 $200

2047 $24 $66 $92 $203

2048 $25 $67 $93 $206

2049 $25 $68 $94 $209

2050 $26 $69 $95 $212. 

1 (b) COST OF METHANE.—In developing any rule2 making that requires a regulatory impact analysis, making 

3 any substantial procurement decision for which the cost 

4 of methane is not applied before the date on which a re5 vised version of the costs of greenhouse gases is finalized, 

6 the head of any Federal agency shall consider and docu7 ment the cost of methane in accordance with the amounts 

8 specified in the following table: 


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Cost of Methane, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 Dollars 

per Metric Ton of Methane), Discount Rate and 

Statistic 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2010 $370 $870 $1,200 $2,400

2011 $380 $910 $1,200 $2,500

2012 $400 $940 $1,300 $2,600

2013 $420 $970 $1,300 $2,700

2014 $440 $1,000 $1,300 $2,700

2015 $450 $1,000 $1,400 $2,800

2016 $470 $1,100 $1,400 $2,900

2017 $490 $1,100 $1,500 $3,000

2018 $510 $1,100 $1,500 $3,000

2019 $520 $1,200 $1,500 $3,100

2020 $540 $1,200 $1,600 $3,200

2021 $560 $1,200 $1,600 $3,300

2022 $590 $1,300 $1,700 $3,400

2023 $610 $1,300 $1,700 $3,500

2024 $630 $1,400 $1,800 $3,600

2025 $650 $1,400 $1,800 $3,700

2026 $670 $1,400 $1,900 $3,800

2027 $700 $1,500 $1,900 $3,900

2028 $720 $1,500 $2,000 $4,000

2029 $740 $1,600 $2,000 $4,100

2030 $760 $1,600 $2,000 $4,200

2031 $790 $1,600 $2,100 $4,300

2032 $820 $1,700 $2,100 $4,500

2033 $850 $1,700 $2,200 $4,600


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Cost of Methane, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 Dollars 

per Metric Ton of Methane), Discount Rate and 

Statistic—Continued 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2034 $880 $1,800 $2,200 $4,700

2035 $900 $1,800 $2,300 $4,900

2036 $930 $1,900 $2,400 $5,000

2037 $960 $1,900 $2,400 $5,100

2038 $990 $2,000 $2,500 $5,200

2039 $1,000 $2,000 $2,500 $5,400

2040 $1,000 $2,000 $2,600 $5,500

2041 $1,100 $2,100 $2,600 $5,600

2042 $1,100 $2,100 $2,700 $5,700

2043 $1,100 $2,200 $2,700 $5,800

2044 $1,200 $2,200 $2,800 $5,900

2045 $1,200 $2,300 $2,800 $6,100

2046 $1,200 $2,300 $2,900 $6,200

2047 $1,300 $2,400 $2,900 $6,300

2048 $1,300 $2,400 $3,000 $6,400

2049 $1,300 $2,500 $3,000 $6,500

2050 $1,300 $2,500 $3,100 $6,700. 

1 (c) COST OF NITROUS OXIDE.—In developing any 

2 rulemaking that requires a regulatory impact analysis, 

3 making any substantial procurement decision for which 

4 the cost of nitrous oxide is not applied before the date 

5 on which a revised version of the costs of greenhouse gases 

6 is finalized, the head of any Federal agency shall consider 


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1 and document the cost of nitrous oxide in accordance with 

2 the amounts specified in the following table: 

Cost of Nitrous Oxide, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 

Dollars per Metric Ton of Nitrous Oxide), Discount 

Rate and Statistic 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2010 $3,400 $12,000 $18,000 $31,000

2011 $3,500 $12,000 $18,000 $32,000

2012 $3,700 $12,000 $19,000 $33,000

2013 $3,800 $13,000 $19,000 $34,000

2014 $3,900 $13,000 $20,000 $34,000

2015 $4,000 $13,000 $20,000 $35,000

2016 $4,200 $14,000 $20,000 $36,000

2017 $4,300 $14,000 $21,000 $37,000

2018 $4,400 $14,000 $21,000 $38,000

2019 $4,600 $15,000 $22,000 $38,000

2020 $4,700 $15,000 $22,000 $39,000

2021 $4,900 $15,000 $23,000 $40,000

2022 $5,000 $16,000 $23,000 $41,000

2023 $5,200 $16,000 $23,000 $42,000

2024 $5,400 $16,000 $24,000 $43,000

2025 $5,500 $17,000 $24,000 $44,000

2026 $5,700 $17,000 $25,000 $45,000

2027 $5,900 $17,000 $25,000 $46,000

2028 $6,000 $18,000 $26,000 $47,000

2029 $6,200 $18,000 $26,000 $48,000

2030 $6,300 $19,000 $27,000 $49,000


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Cost of Nitrous Oxide, 2010 Through 2050 (in 2007 

Dollars per Metric Ton of Nitrous Oxide), Discount 

Rate and Statistic—Continued 

Year 5 Percent 

Average 

3 Percent 

Average 

2.5 Percent 

Average 

High Impact 

(95th 

Percentile at 

3 Percent 

Discount 

Rate) 

2031 $6,500 $19,000 $27,000 $50,000

2032 $6,800 $19,000 $28,000 $51,000

2033 $7,000 $20,000 $28,000 $52,000

2034 $7,200 $20,000 $29,000 $54,000

2035 $7,400 $21,000 $29,000 $55,000

2036 $7,600 $21,000 $30,000 $56,000

2037 $7,800 $21,000 $30,000 $57,000

2038 $8,000 $22,000 $31,000 $58,000

2039 $8,200 $22,000 $31,000 $59,000

2040 $8,400 $23,000 $32,000 $60,000

2041 $8,600 $23,000 $32,000 $61,000

2042 $8,800 $23,000 $33,000 $62,000

2043 $9,100 $24,000 $33,000 $64,000

2044 $9,300 $24,000 $34,000 $65,000

2045 $9,500 $25,000 $34,000 $66,000

2046 $9,800 $25,000 $35,000 $67,000

2047 $10,000 $26,000 $35,000 $68,000

2048 $10,000 $26,000 $36,000 $69,000

2049 $10,000 $26,000 $36,000 $71,000

2050 $11,000 $27,000 $37,000 $72,000. 


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1 SEC. 5. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON THE COSTS OF 

2 GREENHOUSE GASES. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Office of 

4 Management and Budget, the Director of the Office of 

5 Science and Technology Policy, and the Chair of the Coun6 cil of Economic Advisers shall establish an interagency 

7 working group, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Working 

8 Group on the Costs of Greenhouse Gases’’ to carry out 

9 the calculation method revision evaluation described in 

10 section 6. 

11 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group shall consist 

12 of members from— 

13 (1) the Council of Economic Advisers; 

14 (2) the Office of Science and Technology Policy; 

15 (3) the National Security Council; 

16 (4) the National Economic Council; 

17 (5) the Council on Environmental Quality; 

18 (6) the Department of Agriculture; 

19 (7) the Department of Commerce; 

20 (8) the Department of Energy; 

21 (9) the Department of the Interior; 

22 (10) the Department of Transportation; 

23 (11) the Department of the Treasury; 

24 (12) the Department of Health and Human 

25 Services; and 

26 (13) the Environmental Protection Agency. 


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1 SEC. 6. CALCULATION METHOD REVISION. 

2 (a) REVISION EVALUATION.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

4 the date of enactment of this Act, and not less fre5 quently than once every 5 years thereafter, the 

6 Working Group shall carry out a revision evaluation 

7 for the cost of carbon dioxide, cost of methane, and 

8 cost of nitrous oxide to determine whether a revision 

9 of the calculation method of the cost of carbon diox10 ide, cost of methane, or cost of nitrous oxide is nec11 essary. 

12 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out a revi13 sion evaluation under paragraph (1) or a revision 

14 under subsection (b), the Working Group shall— 

15 (A) consider— 

16 (i) the findings of the National Acad17 emies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi18 cine relating to approaches to estimating 

19 the costs of greenhouse gases; 

20 (ii) the findings of the Committee 

21 under section 7(a)(3); 

22 (iii) advancements in scientific and 

23 economic research relating to the impacts 

24 of climate change and the estimation of the 

25 costs of greenhouse gases; 


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1 (iv) new domestic and international 

2 findings; and 

3 (v) all harm caused by greenhouse gas 

4 emissions; 

5 (B) assess any proposed revision of the cal6 culation method with respect to— 

7 (i) consistency with the state of sci8 entific knowledge, as reflected by current, 

9 peer-reviewed literature; and 

10 (ii) the adequacy with which the pro11 posed calculation method identifies and 

12 represents key uncertainties and sensitivi13 ties; 

14 (C) evaluate the harm caused by green15 house gas emissions for the period beginning on 

16 the date on which the applicable revision eval17 uation commences and ending on a date in the 

18 future that would allow estimation of the vast 

19 majority of discounted climate damages; 

20 (D) apply one or more discount rates, 

21 which shall— 

22 (i) account for the intergenerational 

23 nature of the harm caused by climate 

24 change; and 


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1 (ii) be consistent with the interest 

2 rate of consumption used by Federal agen3 cies to reflect climate risk; 

4 (E) include values that account for global 

5 damages from greenhouse gas emissions; 

6 (F) document the calculation method and 

7 present results in a manner adequate for the 

8 scientific community to understand and assess 

9 the calculation method; and 

10 (G) make available to researchers the 

11 model code for review, use, and modification. 

12 (b) REVISION.— 

13 (1) CALCULATION METHOD.—If the Working 

14 Group makes a determination under subsection 

15 (a)(1) that revision of the calculation method is nec16 essary, the Working Group shall draft a proposed re17 vision of the calculation method. 

18 (2) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENT PE19 RIOD.—Any proposed revision of the calculation 

20 method shall be published in the Federal Register 

21 for a period of public comment of not fewer than 90 

22 days and include consultation with industry groups. 

23 (3) EFFECT OF REVISIONS BY WORKING

24 GROUP.—Any revised calculation method of the cost 

25 of carbon dioxide, the cost of methane, or the cost 


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1 of nitrous oxide developed by the Working Group 

2 under paragraph (1) and published under paragraph 

3 (2) shall supersede the applicable discount rate value 

4 of the cost of carbon dioxide, the cost of methane, 

5 or the cost of nitrous oxide under section 4. 

6 SEC. 7. COSTS OF GREENHOUSE GASES SCIENTIFIC RE7 VIEW COMMITTEE. 

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

10 2019, and not less frequently than once every 5 

11 years thereafter, the Director of the Office of Man12 agement and Budget, in consultation with the Direc13 tor of the Office of Science and Technology Policy 

14 and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, 

15 shall establish a committee, to be known as the 

16 ‘‘Costs of Greenhouse Gases Scientific Review Com17 mittee’’. 

18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the 

19 Committee shall consist of not fewer than 10 mem20 bers, selected by the presidents of the National 

21 Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 

22 who shall represent scientific fields relevant to the 

23 estimation of the costs of greenhouse gases, includ24 ing— 

25 (A) climate science; 


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1 (B) climate economics; and 

2 (C) decision analysis. 

3 (3) DUTIES.—The Committee shall publish a 

4 report in which the Committee shall— 

5 (A) make a recommendation to the Work6 ing Group regarding whether a revision of the 

7 calculation method is necessary; 

8 (B) if the Committee determines that a re9 vision is necessary, recommend scientific data 

10 and models to be used by the Working Group 

11 in the revision of the calculation method; 

12 (C) provide scientific advice to the Work13 ing Group on the revision; and 

14 (D) provide guidance to the U.S. Global 

15 Change Research Program with respect to the 

16 research necessary to advance the estimation of 

17 the costs of greenhouse gases. 

18 (b) TERMINATION.—On the completion of the revi19 sion evaluation for which the Committee is established, the 

20 Committee shall terminate. 

21 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Com23 merce such sums as are necessary to administer the Com24 mittee. 

Æ 


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