UPSC Prelims 2020 · Question 65 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2020 question on Social Cost of Carbon

Which one of the following statements best describes the term 'Social Cost of Carbon'? It is a measure, in monetary value, of the

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

The social cost of carbon (SCC) is an estimate, in dollars, of the economic damages that would result from emitting one additional ton of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The SCC puts the effects of climate change into economic terms to help policymakers and other decision-makers understand the economic impacts of decisions that would increase or decrease emissions.

The country-level SCC for the India alone is estimated to be about $86 per tonne of CO2. At current emission levels, the Indian economy loses $210 billion annually.

Hence option (a) — long-term damage done by a tonne of CO2 emissions in a given year — is the correct answer.

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