A new report of how G20 Governments are pouring more funds into fossil fuels has just appeared on the Oil Change International site. Oil Change International is a research, communication, and advocacy organization that exposes the true costs of fossil fuels and seeks to facilitate future transitions towards clean energy.
Science has overwhelmingly shown that preventing global warming means keeping temperatures well below 2°C to ultimately limit warming to 1.5°C by curtailing the use of fossil fuels. This goal was a major part of the Paris Agreement on climate change that was signed in April, 2016 by 195 countries.
Alarmingly, many governments who signed the agreement continue to fund fossil fuel projects. The report, “Talk is Cheap: How G20 Governments are Financing Climate Disaster,” shows how many of the G20 nations still fund the fossil fuel industry and are among the world’s largest economies (and polluters), who, in Paris, had committed to curtail support for fossil fuels in favor of low-carbon alternatives. The report shows that the shift from fossil fuel funding to low-carbon alternatives has yet to happen.
https://www.ecowatch.com/g20-finance-fossil-fuels-2453712123.html
Here are some alarming figures:
The US financed fossil fuels to the tune of $6 billion annually 2013-2015, versus $1.3B for renewables. Japan’s split was $16.5B – $2.7B; China’s, surprisingly, was $13.5B – 85M. Japan was 3rd largest funder at about $9B, US 4th at $6B – $1.3B. Other G20 nations poured $17.5B into US fossil fuel companies. As one of the authors of the report said, “We must stop funding fossils and shift these subsidies.” Hear, hear! ClimateYou awaits the 2016 post-Paris numbers with great interest.
