Just days before the
G20 Summit, a comprehensive report details how the world's largest economies are investing over $88 billion in tax dollars each year to subsidize fossil fuel exploration.
The release comes a little more than a week after the IPCC's 5th Synthesis Report called for immediate action and large investments to shift from a fossil fuel driven world economy to one sustained by renewable energies.
Aside from continuing to show how the G20 nations have not phased out fossil fuel subsidies for exploration, the report evaluates "subsidy reform through a climate and unburnable carbon lens."
Jointly produced by Oil Change International and Overseas Development Institute, "The fossil fuel bailout: G20 subsidies for oil, gas and coal exploration” is a clear indication of the level of climate denial dominating the G20 world view.
As noted in today's Guardian article Rich countries subsidising oil, gas and coal companies by $88bn a year:
The most detailed breakdown yet of global fossil fuel subsidies has found that the US government provided companies with $5.2bn for fossil fuel exploration in 2013, Australia spent $3.5bn, Russia $2.4bn and the UK $1.2bn. Most of the support was in the form of tax breaks for exploration in deep offshore fields.
The public money went to major multinationals as well as smaller ones who specialise in exploratory work, according to British thinktank the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Washington-based analysts Oil Change International
.
The Guardian also provides an outstanding interactive graphic How the G20 subsidises exploration for fossil fuels which enables users to click buttons to view how 10 countries are directing fossil fuel discovery.
Oil and gas exploration expenditure in G20 countries (public and private). Photograph: ODI/Rystad Energy
“The evidence points to a publicly financed bail-out for carbon-intensive companies, and support for uneconomic investments that could drive the planet far beyond the internationally agreed target of limiting global temperature increases to no more than 2C,” say the report’s authors.
Listen to Oil Change International Founder Steve Kretzmann discuss the report's findings on the BBC World (at the 8.50 mark).
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Fossil Fuel Bailout: #G20 subsidies dirty energy exploration @ODI_development @PriceofOil #ffsG20 http://bit.ly/... #onmyagenda
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While the G20 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union - are responsible for 80% of global greenhouse emissions, are not including climate change on their agenda next week. And a new report details how rich countries continue to spend vast amounts of money in funding the exploration for fossil fuels. Climate Change is #onmyagenda.
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