CEPR/EAERE Webinar: Climate Policy Economic Analysis of the new U.S. Discounting System

3 April 2024 - 3 April 2024

Location: Online

Organizer: Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and EAERE

In November 2023, the U.S. OMB has published new versions of Circular A-4 and Circular A-94 that contain in particular a new discounting system for public policy evaluation. The new risk-free discount rate is now fixed at 2% in real term, whereas it is also proposed to use a risk-adjusted discount rate of 3.1%. Compare to the earlier much larger discount rates, this reform is likely to make the American society more long-termist, in particular in the domain of environmental protection and climate change. This webinar will offer three critical analyses of the underlying approach which led to the reform, and of its consequences.

Join us on 3 April 2024, from 5 PM (CET), 11 AM (EST), and 4 PM (GMT) for a roundtable discussion with:

David Anthoff
University of California, Berkeley

Marcel Boyer
University of Montréal, and CIRANO

Michael Greenstone 
University Of Chicago, and CEPR

The presentation will be followed by a discussion and Q&A session with the audience moderated by
Christian Gollier

Toulouse School of Economics, EAERE, and CEPR