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Half a trillion in subsidies for fossil fuels

2015-12-02 20:04:52.565291+00 by Dan Lyke 2 comments

I actually think this is low, because we should count much of our foreign policy and military spending in the "subsidizing fossil fuels" category, but Fortune: 10 Things You Should Know About Global Clean Energy mentions:

The fossil fuel industry collects far more subsidies than clean energy sectors: The IEA says that the fossil fuel industry received $490 billion in subsidies in 2014. That's truly shocking considering coal, oil and gas are relatively mature industries. In comparison clean power received $112 billion in global subsidies in 2014. The subsidies for clean energy will rise to $170 billion by 2040, the IEA said.

And I wanted to put this place somewhere I could find it, because I'm writing another piece about technological solutions to ecological problems and a half a trillion bucks a year in subsidies is a part of why we're getting Uber and AirBNB rather than energy solutions.

[ related topics: Writing ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: Half a trillion in subsidies for fossil fuels made: 2015-12-03 13:04:47.242904+00 by: stevesh

Not a single word about nuclear, which could be the 'cleanest' energy of all, if done right.

#Comment Re: Half a trillion in subsidies for fossil fuels made: 2015-12-07 15:44:39.903258+00 by: Dan Lyke

That "if done right" part is... well... rather a huge "if", no? Here coming up on 30 years after Chernobyl, which we could chalk up to historical failure, but the continuing state of Japan's nuclear power industry... well...

Yeah, reactor design has come a long way in 30 years, but there's a ton of history to overcome.

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