Here’s What Gas Would Have to Cost to Account for Health and Environmental Impacts

The average cost of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. right now is $2.47.  If that cost took into account the environmental and human health costs of burning the gasoline, however, it would more than double, according to a new study.

The study, published this week in the journal Climatic Change, created models for the “social cost of atmospheric release,” a method of determining the costs of emissions beyond their market value.  According to the study, accounting for the social costs of burning gasoline would add an average of $3.80 per gallon to the pump price, raising the price to $6.27.  Diesel has an even higher social cost of $4.80 per gallon.

The study also measured the social costs of other fossil fuels not used at the pump.  Coal, for example, would jump from 10 cents per kilowatt hour to 42 cents per kilowatt hour, the study found.  And natural gas, which has emerged in recent years as a cheap source of fuel, would see its price rise from 7 cents per kWh to 17 cents per kWh.

In all, according to the study, the environmental costs of producing electricity in the U.S. total $330-970 billion every year.

Right now, the Environmental Protection Agency and other government agencies use the Social Cost of Carbon to measure the monetary impact of carbon emissions on human health and the environment.  But there is no similar measure for fossil fuels in general.

Read more at Here’s What Gas Would Have to Cost to Account for Health and Environmental Impacts