Renewable Energy Market and Fossil Fuel Subsidies
The U.S. government is using tax money to harm citizens by continuing to subsidize the fossil fuel companies. In order to maintain a habitable earth, they should be prioritizing a rapid transition to renewables and a regenerative economy.
Read a roundup of the headlines:
“Global public subsidies for fossil fuels almost doubled to $700bn in 2021, analysis has shown, representing a “roadblock” to tackling the climate crisis.
Despite the huge profits of fossil fuel companies, the subsidies soared as governments sought to shield citizens from surging energy prices as the global economy rebounded from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most of the subsidies were used to reduce the price paid by consumers. This largely benefits wealthier households, as they use the most energy, rather than targeting those on low incomes. The subsidies are expected to rise even further in 2022 as Russia’s war in Ukraine has driven energy prices even higher.
“Fossil fuel subsidies are a roadblock to a more sustainable future, but the difficulty that governments face in removing them is underscored at times of high and volatile fuel prices,” said Fatih Birol, the director of the International Energy Agency, which produced the analysis with the OECD.”
The Guardian, Global fossil fuel subsidies almost doubled in 2021, analysis finds
“The fossil fuel industry benefits from subsidies of $11m every minute, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by $5.9tn in 2020, with not a single country pricing all its fuels sufficiently to reflect their full supply and environmental costs. Experts said the subsidies were “adding fuel to the fire” of the climate crisis, at a time when rapid reductions in carbon emissions were urgently needed.”
IMF, Fossil fuel industry gets subsidies of $11m a minute, IMF finds
“With Russia’s war in Ukraine worsening a global energy crisis, no less than five new reports have come to similar conclusions about what nations need to do to secure their energy future while hitting climate targets.
In short, governments need to double down on renewable energy, massively improve efficiency, and electrify their economies.
In the most recent report, U.K. think tank Ember revealed that solar and wind power generated 10% of the world’s electricity for the first time last year, suggesting renewable energy has begun to redefine the global electricity system.
With oil and gas prices still at record highs around the world, and the UN secretary-general describing the world’s “addiction” to fossil fuels as “mutually assured destruction,” Ember found that solar electricity generation increased 23% last year, while electricity from wind rose 14% worldwide—a rate of change that could put the world on course to achieve its climate change commitments.”
Forbes, 5 New Reports Show Wind And Solar Power Can Cripple Putin, Secure Climate Goals
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It's easier to imagine the end of the World, than the end of Capitalism' -Fehinti Balogun