Fossil fuel subsidies – Just How Much Do We Pay?
June 2015
We all know that fossil fuel companies get large subsidies. Even though they’re profitable. Which seems a bit daft.
But, the real figure, the actual amount of these subsidies is – well, it’s pretty astonishing.
The IMF (International Monetary Fund) released a working paper on how much we all pay to subsidize fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal.
That means all of us. Every human being on the planet.
And they looked at The Big Picture.
They didn’t just look at what we pay to help energy companies get fossil fuels out of the ground.
The technical term for that is “pre-tax subsidies.”
They also looked at “post-tax subsidies” – these are costs such as health bills for people affected by pollution, people whose homes are flooded or storm damaged due to climate change.
And the total they came up with is a staggering $5.3 trillion for global fossil fuel subsidies.
Now actually, it’s not quite as straightforward as it appears, because, oddly enough, we (that’s you and me) also benefit from these same subsidies. Not that you get any actual money, but you do benefit. Which does complicate matters. See how YOU benefit from fossil fuel subsidies here.
Now, if you’re anything like me, you simply can’t imagine a number as big as $5.3 trillion.
How about $10 million a minute – does that make it more real?
$10 million every single minute. Every minute of every day and night.
Isn’t that shocking?
It’s more than the entire health spending of all the world’s governments.
Talk about not sustainable!
What can we do? Find out below this video from Grist:
Every one of us is paying for the pollution that is leading to climate change.
And the reason these costs / subsidies are so high, is because we’re not paying the real price for our energy.
We need to start doing that.
We also need to stop extracting fossil fuels – to quote a Twitter movement: #KeepItInTheGround.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to extract what’s left anyway – fracking and Arctic drilling are high risk operations.
We need renewable energy instead.
This isn’t popular in many circles.
But when an organization like the IMF spends this much time calculating the true cost of fossil fuels, it could be a sign that a change is not only needed but is becoming a mainstream idea.
Let’s Keep It In The Ground, reduce our own demands for energy and consumer goods, and support renewable energy.
Spread the word about the shocking cost of fossil fuel subsidies – sharing buttons below and right – thank you!
