$7 trillion of fossil fuel subsidies were dished out in 2022, a rate of $13 million a minute and equivalent to 7% of global GDP, according to the IMF.
So much for tackling climate change. The G20 nations are responsible for 80% of global carbon emissions, and in 2009 pledged to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. In 2022, the same nations spent a total of $1.4 trillion.
Huge amounts have been spent on capping the prices of fuel and heating, like the energy price cap in Britain. But these measures don’t encroach on the record-high profits of the big fossil fuel companies. Rather than dishing out cash to go straight into the coffers of the likes of Shell and BP, we say nationalise the energy industry under democratic working-class control and management. Imagine what $7 trillion could do if the working class could put it to use developing measures to stop climate change!
