President Obama’s FY 2011 budget proposal puts the kibosh on some $39 billion in tax breaks for oil and coal companies over the next 10 years. The president seems to be taking a step in the direction of making good on last year’s G20 agreement to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels.
The connection between a fossil fuel phase-out and global emissions reductions is undeniable, according to RFF Senior Fellow Ray Kopp. He explains in that in order to meet worldwide emissions reductions, fossil fuel consumption will have to be curtailed. One way to encourage using less, reducing subsidies on fossil fuel costs, he says:
Fossil energy subsidies hamper all government efforts to increase energy conservation, provide a viable market for renewable energy sources, and accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy. The OECD estimates that removal of the $300 billion of consumer subsidies would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent in 2050. Of course, removal of the subsidies is easier said than done. Consumer energy subsidies are very popular among the groups receiving them and therefore politically difficult to dismantle. Moreover, they are seen as government support for poor households. It is arguable whether a significant portion of these subsidies (for example gasoline) target very low-income households; but, in some countries the only link households have to the monetary based market world is through the purchase of fossil fuels. In these cases the fossil markets provide governments with a mechanism for income support—perhaps the only mechanism. A U.S. proposal to end fossil fuel subsidies to oil, diesel and gas “in the medium term” was accepted by world leaders at a G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in September. While no deadline was set, the action by the G-20 to end subsidies is clearly a step in the right direction, but the political hurdles and issue of poor household income support must be addressed and overcome.
Of course, removal of the subsidies is easier said than done. Consumer energy subsidies are very popular among the groups receiving them and therefore politically difficult to dismantle. Moreover, they are seen as government support for poor households. It is arguable whether a significant portion of these subsidies (for example gasoline) target very low-income households; but, in some countries the only link households have to the monetary based market world is through the purchase of fossil fuels. In these cases the fossil markets provide governments with a mechanism for income support—perhaps the only mechanism.
A U.S. proposal to end fossil fuel subsidies to oil, diesel and gas “in the medium term” was accepted by world leaders at a G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in September. While no deadline was set, the action by the G-20 to end subsidies is clearly a step in the right direction, but the political hurdles and issue of poor household income support must be addressed and overcome.
Read Kopp’s entire post, “Fossil Subsidies: Yet Another Call for Getting Prices Right” here. Raymond J. Kopp is a senior fellow and director of Resources for the Future’s Climate Policy Program.