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“A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) study shows that USD$5.2 trillion was spent globally on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017. The equivalent of over 6.5% of g
by ricw 7y ago
“A new International Monetary Fund (IMF) study shows that USD$5.2 trillion was spent globally on fossil fuel subsidies in 2017. The equivalent of over 6.5% of global GDP of that year”
Such a waste. Another example of how subsidies result in bad incentives. It’s surprising that renewables have even reached their current level with such gross inequality prevailing. Imagine how much cleaner the air would be without these subsidies.
- stvswn 7y agoIn the U.S. we spend the following on tax subsidies each year: 1. Renewable energy: $7.3 billion 2. Energy efficiency: $4.8 billion 3. Fossil fuels: $3.2 billion 4. Nuclear energy: $1.1 billion The subsidy number you're referring to is calcuated by adding negative externalities related to air pollution and climate change to the numbers. Those estimates don't reflect funds that could have been spent elsewhere and it doesn't reflect funding priority.