Governments' Oil Subsidies Increase Debt & Accelerate Catastrophic Climate Change
January 19, 2012 at 02:49PM A recent 3-minute brief from the Earth Policy Institute states that global public sector subsidy of the oil industry amounts to $500 billion per year. This spending increases public debt and accelerates catastrophic climate change. Should this be de-factor government policy in an age of catastrophic climate change when accurate understanding and a meaningful and sufficient response is nowhere to be seen?
In addition, reversing this policy, that is, eliminating the subsidies, would reduce government debt, or, could be put to positive benefit by funding the birth and development of the renewable energy sector and related changes in the shift to a no-carbon economy. Further, taxing fossil fuel development and consumption, would support a shift in public policy towards climate change reversal, would make sense (tax production and consumption that is no longer beneficial and that we want to encourage), and would stimulate the economic recovery in ways that would have systems transforming, long term benefits.
Read the brief.
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