Rich nations' fossil fuel subsidies exceed climate aid 40 to 1: report

Wealthy nations spend 40 times as much money subsidising fossil fuel production as they contribute to the Green Climate Fund to help poor countries adapt to global warming, a research group said in a study released.

A coal mine in Bulga the Hunter Valley north of Sydney

A coal mine in Bulga the Hunter Valley north of Sydney Source: AAP

Eight industrialised nations - Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States - spend a combined $80 billion a year on public support for fossil fuel production, but have pledged only about $2 billion a year to the Green Climate Fund, Oil Change International said.

"Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies could be a massive double win," Alex Doukas, the group's senior campaigner, said in a statement on the .

"It would stop a huge waste of public money that's driving the climate crisis, while at the same time freeing up money that can help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and make the shift to renewable energy."

The research was released during negotiations between 195 nations in Paris over a new climate deal, expected to lead to an agreement next week.

Developing nations have been calling for more support from wealthy countries so that they can produce clean energy, accelerate their economic growth and reduce poverty while keeping carbon emissions in check. 

The report found Australia and Brazil provided national subsidies of $5 billion on average annually, including for the development of fossil fuel resources in increasingly remote and challenging areas (inland and offshore).
Australia rejected a New-Zealand push at COP21 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he objected to the definition of a fossil fuel subsidy, which he said effectively argued that not having a carbon price amounted to a fossil fuel subsidy.

The IMF argues that if the true economic costs of using coal is not taken into account then coal, oil and gas are effectively subsidised.  

Mr Turnbull's rejection of the plan followed pressure from backbench government MPs, who argued that support for the communique would harm Australia's diesel subsidy for farmers and miners.

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Source: Reuters


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