Governments Spent Record $1 Trillion Last Year Subsidizing Fossil Fuels
- Governments subsidize fossil fuels, despite climate goals
- Offical aid hit a record as energy prices soared last year
A coal-fired power station in Weisweiler, Germany.
Photographer: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Even as global governments raise their ambitions to cut fossil fuels in the future, they spent a record $1 trillion last year subsidizing energy sources that are the main driver of climate change.
That’s the finding from the International Energy Agency, which estimates that the combined subsidies for oil, natural gas, electricity and coal hit an all-time high in 2022 as soaring energy prices crippled economies. It underlines the challenge for policy makers trying to grapple with the immediate threat of runaway fuel inflation, while still trying to push a shift to low-carbon sources.