*[Enwl-eng] Fw: [can-eecca] Fwd: [CAN-talk] ENERGY POLICY:Governments spend $2Trillion a year subsidizing fuel,electricity production -- IMF

[ENWLine]

8.ENERGY POLICY: Governments spend $2T a year subsidizing fuel, electricity
production -- IMF

*Nick Juliano, E&E reporter*

*Published: Wednesday, March 27, 2013*

Global governments spend nearly $2 trillion per year to subsidize oil,
natural gas, coal and electricity production through direct support to
those industries, consumer rebates and avoided taxes on pollution,
according to an International Monetary Fund report released today.

The United States is the top overall subsidizer, with $502 billion directed
to support energy industries in 2011, according to IMF, followed by China
at $279 billion and Russia at $116 billion.

The *report* <http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/27/document_pm_05.pdf>
urges
an end to energy subsidies as governments grapple with tight budgets and
highlights examples of countries that have successfully eliminated
subsidies. Key steps to eliminating subsidies, according to the report, are
developing a comprehensive, long-term plan to phase out the subsidies over
time; advancing measures to insulate the poor from higher energy prices;
and effectively consulting with the public and affected stakeholders.

The report distinguishes between pretax subsidies -- which reduce energy
costs below their market value -- and tax subsidies, which relate to taxing
energy at a lower rate than other goods or avoiding taxing externalities
such as climate change, air pollution or traffic congestion. The IMF report
did not account for subsidies to renewable energy because they are
generally too small to precisely measure, said David Lipton, the IMF's
first deputy managing director.

Pretax subsidies are most heavily concentrated in oil-exporting nations of
the Middle East and North Africa, while advanced economies deliver the
largest share of post-tax subsidies, according to the report.

Lipton said at a forum this afternoon that the report was meant to assist
governments in eliminating energy subsidies, building on the pledge from
G20 nations in 2009 to phase out support for fossil fuels. The report goes
beyond the G20 pledge in considering the lack of a carbon tax to be a
subsidy for energy production.

Lipton said it was time for the world to embrace both an end to government
supports to fossil fuels and a price on carbon emissions.

"To me, the bottom line is that energy subsidization is a major global
problem, but it is a problem that can be solved," Lipton said in a speech
hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington,
D.C.

The IMF will continue to highlight the need to eliminate energy subsidies
and stands ready to assist governments that want to do so with a
recognition that subsidies must be properly phased out to avoid unintended
consequences.

Subsidy elimination is sorely needed, Lipton said. "But it's better to do
it the right way then to do it right away."

*Click here* <http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/27/document_pm_05.pdf> to
read the IMF report, "Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications."

*Click here* <http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/27/document_pm_06.pdf>
for
a summary.

*Click here* <http://www.eenews.net/assets/2013/03/27/document_pm_04.pdf>
for
case studies on energy subsidy reforms in various countries
.


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--
Iryna Stavchuk
National Ecological Centre of Ukraine
www.necu.org.ua
www.climategroup.org.ua
www.infoclimate.org



From: "Irina Stavchuk" <irina.s...@necu.org.ua>
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2013 4:51 PM
Subject: [can-eecca] Fwd: [CAN-talk] ENERGY POLICY: Governments spend
$2Trillion a year subsidizing fuel, electricity production -- IMF




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