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G20 spent record US$1.4 trillion on fossil fuels in 2022 despite climate change pledges: report

  • The amount included subsidies worth US$1 trillion, which nations provided by retailing fossil fuels such as crude oil at a discounted rate to international prices
  • Support for fossil fuels last year was more than four times the average in the previous decade, the report said

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A man rides his cart past a wall mural with India’s G20 summit logo in New Delhi on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

G20 member nations last year provided a record US$1.4 trillion – more than double that of pre-Covid levels – to support fossil fuels that have fanned global warming, a report has revealed, despite previous pledges to phase out subsidies.

The International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) think tank’s report released on Wednesday said the amount included fossil fuel subsidies worth US$1 trillion, investments by state-owned enterprises worth US$322 billion and lending from public financial institutions worth US$50 billion.

“These figures are a stark reminder of the massive amounts of public money G20 governments continue to pour into fossil fuels despite the increasingly devastating impacts of climate change,” said Tara Laan, senior associate of IISD and lead author of the study.

“It is crucial for the bloc to put fossil fuel subsidies on the Delhi Leaders’ summit agenda and take meaningful actions to eliminate all public financial flows for coal, oil and gas.”

Steam emits from a crude oil refinery in Kerala state, India in August 2022. Photo: AP
Steam emits from a crude oil refinery in Kerala state, India in August 2022. Photo: AP

G20 nations in 2019 provided US$613 billion, of which US$247 billion were subsidies, to support fossil fuels.

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