Fossil Fuel Subsidies Hit $1.3 Trillion Despite Government Pledges to End Them
Governments around the world are failing to deliver on promises to wind down fossil fuel subsidies, even as climate change impacts worsen.
A natural gas flare burns near an oil pump jack. Subsidies for fossil fuels have risen over the past two years despite nations’ commitments to phasing them out and reducing emissions.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergDespite repeated government pledges to cut back on fossil fuel subsidies, a new report found such subsidies surged to a record $1.3 trillion last year.
The report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) looked at both explicit and implicit subsidies for fossil fuels across 170 countries. It found explicit subsidies alone have more than doubled since the previous IMF assessment, rising from $500 billion in 2020 to $1.3 trillion in 2022 as governments rushed to mitigate the inflationary impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the spike in demand caused by the economic recovery from Covid-19. Those subsidies are direct monetary support for fossil fuels through activities like regulated prices set below international levels and energy bill rebates.