Financial support by governments for coal, oil, gas, and electricity generated from them
Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential heating; or subsidies on production, such as tax breaks on exploration for oil. Or they may be free or cheap negative externalities; such as air pollution or climate change due to burning gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Some fossil fuel subsidies are via electricity generation, such as subsidies for coal-fired power stations.
Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies would reduce the health risks of air pollution,[1] and would greatly reduce global carbon emissions thus helping to limit climate change.[2] As of 2021[update], policy researchers estimate that substantially more money is spent on fossil fuel subsidies than on environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies or environmentally harmful water subsidies.[3] The International Energy Agency says: "High fossil fuel prices hit the poor hardest, but subsidies are rarely well-targeted to protect vulnerable groups and tend to benefit better-off segments of the population."[4]
Despite the G20 countries having pledged to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,[5] as of 2023[update] they continue because of voter demand,[6][7] or for energy security.[8] Global fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2022 have been estimated at one trillion dollars;[4] although they vary each year depending on oil prices, they are consistently hundreds of billions of dollars.[9]
^"Local Environmental Externalities due to Energy Price Subsidies: A Focus on Air Pollution and Health" (PDF). World Bank.
^"Fossil fuel subsidies: If we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions we should not pay people to burn fossil-fuels". Our World in Data. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
^"Protecting Nature by Reforming Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: The Role of Business | Earth Track". www.earthtrack.net. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
^"Update on recent progress in reform of inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption" (PDF). 2021.
^George, Johannes Urpelainen and Elisha (14 July 2021). "Reforming global fossil fuel subsidies: How the United States can restart international cooperation". Brookings. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^Martinez-Alvarez, Cesar B.; Hazlett, Chad; Mahdavi, Paasha; Ross, Michael L. (22 November 2022). "Political leadership has limited impact on fossil fuel taxes and subsidies". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 119 (47). doi:10.1073/pnas.2208024119. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 9704748. PMID 36375060.
^Brower, Derek; Wilson, Tom; Giles, Chris (25 February 2022). "The new energy shock: Putin, Ukraine and the global economy". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 27 Related for: Fossil fuel subsidies information
Fossilfuelsubsidies are energy subsidies on fossilfuels. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential...
fuel. Some fossilfuelsubsidies are via electricity generation, such as subsidies for coal-fired power stations. Eliminating fossilfuelsubsidies would...
tracked some $634 billion in energy-sector subsidies in 2020, and found that around 70% were fossilfuelsubsidies. About 20% went to renewable power generation...
justify new fossilfuel development. Lobbyists try to retain fossilfuelsubsidies. Those corporations that continue to invest in new fossilfuel exploration...
member countries to address climate change. However, the level of fossilfuelsubsidies in Australia is still disputed. The Australian Renewable Energy...
reducing imports. The OECD has criticised the lack of carbon pricing, fossilfuelsubsidies and the country's under-utilized wind and solar potential. The country's...
Fossilfuel divestment or fossilfuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political...
energy used. Fossilfuel funding and subsidies are a significant barrier to the energy transition. Direct global fossilfuelsubsidies were $319 billion...
emissions and trade emission credits. Fossilfuelsubsidies can be eliminated in favor of clean energy subsidies, and incentives offered for installing...
tracked some $634 billion in energy-sector subsidies in 2020, and found that around 70% were fossilfuelsubsidies. About 20% went to renewable power generation...
from India and China that weakened a move to end coal power and fossilfuelsubsidies, the conference ended with the adoption of a less stringent resolution...
report on G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production. The leaders of the G20 countries had pledged in 2011 to phase-out fossilfuelsubsidies. In 2013–2014...
of fossil-fuelsubsidies as a percentage of GDP; and (b) amount of fossilfuelsubsidies as a proportion of the total national expenditure on fossil fuels"...
to be important by some. Significant fossilfuelsubsidies are present in many countries. Fossilfuelsubsidies in 2019 for consumption totalled US$320 billion...
generation per year. Expansion of wind power is being hindered by fossilfuelsubsidies. The actual amount of electric power that wind can generate is calculated...
The deployment of renewable energy is being hindered by massive fossilfuelsubsidies. In 2022 the International Energy Agency (IEA) requested all countries...
countries) pledging in 2009 to end inefficient fossilfuelsubsidies, as of 2020[update] there are direct subsidies and the main way coal power is favoured is...
largest of Turkey's fossilfuelsubsidies that year. Petcoke is used in cement production. In other countries fossilfuelsubsidies have been successfully...
around the world, and identified that many resources, especially of fossilfuels which are concentrated in just a few countries. It placed its main concerns...
improved faster and energy policy revised, especially by abolishing fossilfuelsubsidies. Many hybrid power plants are planned, and batteries are being integrated...
advanced and fossilfuelsubsidies eliminated. Fossilfuelsubsidies reached a record level of 7.1 trillion dollars in the year 2022, due to high fuel prices...
sustainable development impacts; and remove market distortions, like fossilfuelsubsidies, that encourage wasteful consumption. SDG 13 is to: "Take urgent...
fossil fuels also burnt by deflagration (rather than detonation) in ICE cars include diesel, autogas, and CNG. Removal of fossilfuelsubsidies, concerns...
creating green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth" and "Fossilfuelsubsidies must end, and carbon must have a price and polluters must pay for...
back fossilfuelsubsidies, replacing the subsidies with incentives to start producing green energy. It is estimated that ending tax subsidies for those...