, The Social Cost of Carbon and Carbon Taxes – Pick a number, any number by Coalition Director Dr. Bruce Everett.  The white paper is available at https://co2coalition.org/publications/the-social-cost-of-carbon-and-carbon-taxes-pick-a-number-any-number/. This is the introduction to the event by Caleb Stewart Rossiter, Executive Director of the CO2 Coalition

Welcome. I direct the CO2 Coalition of 50 unalarmed atmospheric scientists, agronomists, geologists, meteorologists, ecologists, statisticians, energy economists, and engineers. And a special welcome to congressional staff. I was sitting where you were 35 years ago, a staffer working to end the wars in Central America, whose impact we still see today on our southern border – so be perseverant! Social Cost of Carbon – sounds technical and boring, right? But there may be no bigger decision in this Congress than pricing energy. Half of Congress, my party, the Democrats, believes that model projections of climate catastrophe justify an end to fossil fuels and their emissions of CO2 – a slight warming gas and a potent plant food. The other half, the Republicans, aren’t so sure…yet. But how do you get to fossil-free by 2030, or 40, or 50, when 85 percent of power is fossil-fueled? Not seizure of pickup trucks at gunpoint, I hope – but economic encouragement. Hence, the Social Cost of Carbon, which is the model projected cost of climate changes from CO2. And hence our two wonderful speakers today. Our presenter is energy economist Bruce Everett, of the anti-carbon tax CO2 Coalition, and our discussant is atmospheric physicist Joseph Majkut, of the pro-tax Niskanen Center. I have a quantum mechanics textbook that says that before people argue about the deep meaning of quantum mechanics, it’s nice if they can actually do quantum mechanics.  Well, with Bruce you have someone who actually knows how to create energy and deliver it to your house and car. And with Joseph, you have someone who can actually run a climate model. We appreciate their expertise and their presence. And a special thanks to Senator Inhofe for helping us arrange this event. He is a special person in Congress, one of the few who have taken the time to learn the complex science of the climate issue. Interestingly, another Senator who has done that is Ed Markey, who I worked with on those Central American wars when he was still in the House. Of course, they disagree on their conclusions on climate science and the risk of climate catastrophe, which is something to keep in mind as we start this discussion of climate economics. Gentlemen, take it away.