Carbon Scoring Project

We’re helping decisionmakers understand the impact of different policy designs on carbon emissions and other key economic and social metrics.

Overview

Legislators need a comprehensive, impartial source of analysis on the carbon emissions of policies under consideration.

RFF is building a Carbon Scoring Project to model and analyze the impact of different proposed policy designs—assessing their impacts on carbon emissions and tracking progress against US goals for decarbonization. The project will also project effects on other decision metrics such as air quality, consumer prices, and adoption of clean technologies, among others. RFF's "carbon scores" will provide policymakers with quantitative and qualitative climate information about their bills reported in a standardized and accessible format.

This work is rooted in RFF's 70-year tradition of rigorous analysis, impartiality, and direct engagement with decisionmakers. Products will be fully transparent through the public availability of all model assumptions and source code, and will be provided on the rapid timescale that’s needed to support policy development.

For more about the project, see this blog post by RFF Fellows Aaron Bergman and Kevin Rennert and view the press release here.

The project is funded by The Carbon Zero Project, which focuses on accelerating the world’s achievement of rapid decarbonization.

RFF's Value

RFF is the leading authority on issues at the intersection of the environment and the economy—trusted by a diversity of stakeholders, from government and academics, to the business and environmental advocacy communities.

We also have unparalleled connections within the US climate and economic policy communities and our legacy and our future are built on delivering innovation to address the most important environmental issues of the day.

Highlights

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Introducing the Carbon Scoring Project

This blog post provides an overview of the Carbon Scoring Project, RFF's effort to provide policymakers with quantitative and qualitative climate information about their bills, reported in a standardized and accessible format.

Financial Incidence and Health Effects of the IRA

This RFF report examines the emissions, health, and financial impacts of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, finding that the law will unlock a new reality for the electricity grid and households in America.

Exploring a New Electricity Baseline with the IRA

A jointly hosted RFF/EPRI event explores how the electricity sector is expected to transform in the coming decades as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Retail Electricity Rates under the IRA

In this issue brief, RFF researchers model the impact of the proposed Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 on consumer electricity prices, finding that it reduces the average American household's electricity costs by $170-$220 a year.