WHAT WORLD NEW ENERGY NEEDS

End $300 billion subsidies for fossil fuels, says energy watchdog; Subsidies for oil, coal and gas sectors were six times higher than those for renewable energy in 2009, the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) assessment has revealed
Tom Levitt, 9 November 2010 (The Ecologist)

"Ending government subsidies for fossil-fuels is the best way of cutting demand and stopping rising carbon emissions from the energy sector, says the Paris-based IEA, which urged the money to be switched to supporting the renewable sector.

"Total subsidies paid to support fossil fuels amounted to more than $312 billion in 2009 in comparison to $57 billion in support for renewables. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India and China accounted for more than half of all the coal, gas and oil subsidies."

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"The IEA, whose assessments most governments base their energy policies on, estimate that cutting fossil fuel subsidies would reduce the world's energy-related carbon dioxide emissions by 5.8 per cent…

"The IEA assessment also said China, which overtook the United States in 2009 to become the world's largest energy user, would be the key factor in tackling climate change."

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"Although coal-fired electricity generation was expected to continue falling in OECD countries, China was expected to see new capacity installed over the next decade that would exceed the current capacity of the US, EU and Japan…

"…However, China's high demand for low-carbon technologies like solar PV and electric cars is expected to drive down costs in the renewable sector, with plug-in hybrid and electric cars expected to amount to 39 per cent of new sales by 2035…"