Our concern for the climate crisis has been growing exponentially with the earth temperatures breaking record after record. 2023 was another hottest year worldwide. The trend is clear. Freak weather events are becoming more normal, with extensive droughts, heavy rains, powerful storms leading the way. Primary cause is the burning of fossil fuels. Our focus this month is alerting more people of this fact and offering solutions that are meaningful and can be implemented with the right political will.
Fossil fuel subsidies bug us immensely. We know that the burning of fossil fuels is wrecking the climate but we still provide funding, tax rebates or other incentives to support producers and users of fossil fuel that is wrecking the planet.
The OECD keeps track on fossil fuel subsidies around the world and Australia is on top of the list. We love these charts that show fossil fuel subsidies over the years by percentage of the GDP and per capita.
The Australia Institute updates an annual report about how much money Australia is allocating towards fossil fuel burning activities. 2023 they reported total fossil fuel subsidies of $11.6 billion, which translates to $22,000 per minute. There is a debate whether the fuel tax rebate a subsid. Fact is that a discount on the bowser is available to companies who burn fossil fuels, including mining, transport and agriculture. We strongly believe that these subsidies should be stopped.
Our song “Outdated fossil fuel subsidies” is telling the story of the impact of fossil fuel subsidies. We created a video to the song, but the music wuality if poor, as we recorded it on our verandah with simple gear. We still want to make it available to campaigns against fossil fuel subsdies.
Fossil fuel subsidies in 2023-2024 actually were higher than in the song. Check out the article from the Australia Institute for more details.
Are you looking for more explanations or for more solutions? There are many people working on the climate crisis. One of the scientists have stood out for us: Dr Jonathan Foley and his Project Drawdown. Check it out!
Also read the excellent summary in The Conversation https://theconversation.com/countries-spend-huge-sums-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-why-theyre-so-hard-to-eliminate-239346/
This blog was updated on 18 January 2025.