Carbon emission reduction: Govts, organisations endorse removal of fossil fuel subsidies

About 40 influential international and business organisations, including governments on Monday in Paris, called for accelerated action to phase out fossil fuel subsidies in order to keep global temperature at below two degrees Celsius.

A statement on the website of the United National Framework on Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC), said they made the call at the start of a climate conference holding in Paris.

The event is also known at the UN Conference on Climate Change – COP21.

They called on the international community to increase effort to phase out subsidies to fossil fuels by promoting policy transparency, and ambitious reforms targeted to support the poorest.

The statement said governments spent over 500 billion dollars of public resources annually to keep domestic prices for oil, gas and coal artificially low.

“Removing fossil fuel subsidies would reduce greenhouse gas emission by 10 per cent by 2050.

“It would also free up resources to invest in social and physical capital like education, healthcare and infrastructure, while leveling the playing field for renewable energy,’’ it said.

The statement quoted Mr John Key, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, as saying that “fossil fuel subsidy reform is the missing piece of the climate change puzzle.

“It is estimated that more than a third of global carbon emissions, between 1980 and 2010, were driven by fossil fuel subsidies.

“Their elimination would represent one seventh of the effort needed to achieve our target of ensuring that global temperatures do not rise by more than 2°C.

“As with any subsidy reform, change will take courage and strong political will, but with oil prices at record lows and the global focus on a low carbon future, the timing for this reform has never been better.”

The statement also quoted Hakima El Haite, Morocco’s Environment Minister , as saying that “not only do fossil fuel subsidies put a strain on government coffers, but they also don’t help the poorest of society.”

It said the 40 countries and organisations endorsed a communiqué to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

It noted that eliminating fossil fuel subsidies “can accelerate the economic shift needed to tackle climate change and remove one of the obstacles to delivering low-carbon.’’