Environment and Ecology
2020
Climate Change
Sustainable Development

Which one of the following statements best describes the term ‘Social Cost of Carbon’?

C.efforts put in by a climate refugee to adapt to live in a new place
B.requirement of fossil fuels for a country to provide goods and services to its citizens, based on the burning of those fuels
A.long-term damage done by a tonne of CO2 emissions in a given year
D.contribution of an individual person to the carbon footprint on the planet Earth

Correct Answer: Option A

The Social Cost of Carbon (SCC) is an estimate, expressed in dollars, of the economic damages resulting from emitting one additional tonne of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The SCC aims to quantify the economic impacts of climate change to inform policymakers and decision-makers about the consequences of actions that increase or decrease emissions.

For example, one study estimated the country-level SCC for India to be around $86 per tonne of CO2. At current emission levels, the Indian economy loses an estimated $210 billion annually due to the social cost of carbon.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.