$1.4 trillion of public money went to the fossil fuel sector last year
Public financing of the fossil fuel industry by G20 countries reached record levels in 2022, a new report has found. The fossil fuel industry is among the sectors most directly responsible for driving the climate crisis.
According to a report by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), $1.4 trillion of public money flowed into the industry last year in G20 countries, which are among the world’s largest economies. The staggering sums are more than double that of the pre-covid period, despite commitments made at the Glasgow COP26 climate summit in which world leaders pledged to the phasing out ‘inefficient’ subsidies for fossil fuels.
The IISD research found that much of the support related to mitigating the cost of energy for consumers, but that one third was driving investment in new fossil fuel production, equivalent to around $440 billion.
The report’s authors wrote: “This support perpetuates the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, paving the way for yet more energy crises due to market volatility and geopolitical security risks. It also severely limits the possibilities of achieving climate objectives set by the Paris Agreement by incentivizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while undermining the cost-competitiveness of clean energy.
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