EU and European governments spend 112 billion a year on fossil fuel subsidies
A new report by the Overseas Development Institute and Climate Action Network shows that the EU and European government continue to support the fossil fuel industry
28.09.2017 |
The Overseas Development Institute and Climate Action Network (CAN) published a report on the support provided by 11 European governments and the EU to the fossil fuel industry in the period 2014-2016.A The support given by the EU and 11 of its member countries amounts to €112 billion a year. This while the EU and all its member states pledged to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020.
The transport sector is the main beneficiary of these subsidies, receiving €49 billion, or 44% of the total. The subsidies take form as fiscal support, public finance investment by state-owned enterprises. The coal industry, as the dirtiest of all fossil fuels, still receives €2 billion a year.
These subsidies shape Europe’s energy landscape for the long term, as infrastructure remains focused on fossil fuels, and as an indirect result the renewable energy sector faces more challenges.
Redirecting government support could be a powerful tool to shift energy production and consumption towards sustainable energy, and could therefore take an important role in Europe’s wider economic, social and environmental objectives.
Read the full report here
