Burning large amounts of fossil fuels emits large quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which can lead to undesirable effects on the world’s current environmental condition. Thus, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by reducing gasoline consumption is a potential benefit of the CAFE standards program. The standards, however, are a costly way to reduce emissions. Mark Jacobsen estimates that it costs $222 per ton of reduced carbon dioxide using CAFE standards.[45] Kate Whitefoot, University of California-Berkley economist Meredith Fowlie, and Steven Skerlos estimates a cost of $197 per ton of carbon dioxide.[46]
These costs far exceed the benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Economist Richard Tol of the University of Sussex estimates the cost, or damage that additional carbon dioxide does to the environment, to be, at most, $50 per ton.[47] Yale Economists William Nordhaus and Joseph Boyer estimate a cost of $27 per ton.[48] The National Research Council also estimates the cost of carbon to be $50 per ton.[49] Mark Jacobsen estimates it at $37 per ton.[50] Thus, eliminating a ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere might confer $27-$50 of benefit. Consequently, the cost of reducing carbon dioxide through CAFE standards far exceeds the benefit of doing so.
The reason is plain to see. CAFE standards force carbon dioxide reduction efforts through a high-cost channel — new technology to improve mileage on new vehicles — while failing to give people an incentive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. As mentioned before, the impact CAFE standards can have on carbon dioxide emissions is limited and could be entirely offset if drivers increase how many miles they drive.[51]