Charted: $5 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies
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Charted: $5 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies (2010-2021)
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With energy consumption vital for life and business, governments often look to fossil fuel subsidies to make energy as affordable as possible.
These subsidies artificially reduce the price of fossil fuels and generally take two forms:
- Production subsidies occur when governments provide tax cuts or direct payments that reduce the cost of producing coal, oil, or gas.
- Consumption subsidies cut fuel prices for the end-user through price controls and other such measures.
Each year, governments around the world pour nearly half a trillion dollars into fossil fuel subsidies. This chart breaks down a decade of fossil fuel consumption subsidies by energy source using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Breaking Down Fossil Fuel Consumption Subsidies
Since 2010, governments have spent over $5 trillion in fossil fuel consumption subsidies. The majority of this sum went towards making oil more affordable, as seen below:
| Subsidies by Year (US$) | Oil | Electricity | Natural Gas | Coal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | $203.0B | $143.5B | $113.6B | $2.7B | $462.9B |
| 2011 | $263.7B | $147.2B | $100.4B | $3.6B | $514.0B |
| 2012 | $304.0B | $149.9B | $132.2B | $3.3B | $589.5B |
| 2013 | $300.0B | $132.8B | $119.1B | $1.7B | $553.6B |
| 2014 | $262.4B | $124.1B | $104.2B | $1.1B | $491.9B |
| 2015 | $147.3B | $119.2B | $83.6B | $1.5B | $351.5B |
| 2016 | $110.2B | $132.8B | $56.7B | $2.2B | $301.9B |
| 2017 | $153.5B | $136.2B | $65.2B | $2.7B | $357.6B |
| 2018 | (Read more...) |