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> if it did we wouldn't need to subsidize renewables According to IMF report, in 2020 fossil fuel industries received $5.9 trillion in direct and indirect subs
by kjksf 5y ago
> if it did we wouldn't need to subsidize renewables
According to IMF report, in 2020 fossil fuel industries received $5.9 trillion in direct and indirect subsidies.
Not a typo. $5.9 TRILLION
You're partially right: we wouldn't need to subsidize renewables if they were playing on even field.
But they are not. Fossil fuels receive orders of magnitude more subsidies.
And things would be even more in favor of renewables if we addressed externalized costs (BP oil spill and such) by doing e.g. carbon tax.
https://cleantechnica.com/2021/10/19/oil-coal-gas-got-5-9-trillion-in-subsidies-in-2020-imf-report/ https://cleantechnica.com/2021/10/19/oil-coal-gas-got-5-9-tr...
- missedthecue 5y agoAlmost all of that figure is "breathing pollutants, and environmental damage". Not the government giving Exxon money. Which first off, I wouldn't really call a subsidy, and second, is unquantifiable. You can't tally up the cost of breathing polluted air as if it's a line item in a balance sheet. For me, that casts some serious doubts on the accuracy of the $5.8T figure.