Carbon charge on federal leases could balance CO2 cuts, revenue needs—study
A story in S&P Global discusses new research from RFF Fellow Brian Prest on how federal regulations could handle oil & gas leases on federal lands.
Tacking a $50 per ton of carbon charge to federal oil and gas leases would strike the right balance between greenhouse gas reductions while increasing royalty revenue, according to new research from energy and environmental economics think tank Resources for the Future.
Charging for the social cost of carbon could result in higher revenues to the government while taking more than an estimated 200 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent from the atmosphere, about two-thirds of the CO2 that would be removed by a complete leasing ban, according to an Resources for the Future, or RFF, study released Sept. 16. Oil, coal and natural gas extraction from federal lands accounts for 24% of U.S. CO2 emission annually and is a tempting target for those looking for rapid reductions in greenhouse gases, the study's author, energy economist and RFF Fellow Brian Prest said.
