Court Rules for DOE, Upholding Obama's Social Cost of Carbon

A federal court Tuesday ruled for the first time on the legality of the Obama administration's estimated social cost of carbon.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Department of Energy's use of the metric in its analysis of standards for commercial refrigeration equipment. The court upheld DOE's rules in their entirety against industry challenges.

"We conclude that DOE acted in a manner worthy of our deference," Senior Judge Kenneth Ripple, who was appointed by President Reagan, wrote in the opinion.

Judges William Bauer, a Democratic appointee, and Ilana Rovner, a Republican appointee, were the other members of the three-judge panel that heard the case.  The Chicago-based appeals court serves Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.

DOE issued the two rules in question in 2014.  One of the rules set energy efficiency standards for 49 classes of commercial refrigeration equipment, while the other stipulated test procedures for the standards.

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