Government subsidies to tar sands companies larger than Envi
Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 3:49 pmGovernment subsidies to tar sands companies larger than Environment Canada’s entire budget
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/
government-subsidies-to-tar-sands-companies-l/blog/28184?
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Blogpost by Keith Stewart - November 8, 2010 at 10:25
If you want to understand where governments really stand, it’s always a good idea to follow the money. That is why Greenpeace commissioned the Global Subsidies Initiative to do some research for us on tax breaks to corporations producing “high cost” oil (tar sands and deep-water off shore wells) in five countries: Canada, the US, the UK, Brazil and Mexico.
All of these countries committed to “phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that lead to wasteful consumption” at the G20 Leaders Summit in Philadelphia in 2009. No new actions have been taken since then, so we want to turn up the heat on keeping that promise when the G20 gets together again in Korea later this week.
The main conclusion of the GSI report commissioned by Greenpeace is that all five countries are providing more subsidies to oil companies than they admit publicly, and that “it makes little sense to make fiscal cutbacks [to other government programs because of rising deficits] while granting inefficient subsidies; or to attempt to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while concurrently subsidizing GHG emissions through fossil fuel subsidies.”
It also notes that these subsidies also have a more insidious long-term effect of undermining the green economy: “Subsidizing oil extraction has a range of secondary effects, including making investments in oil more attractive compared to lower carbon, lower risk alternatives, thereby increasing the lock-in of economies into fossil fuels.”
Oil companies in Canada are getting a particularly sweet deal, as the subsidies that they were able to put a dollar figure to totalled over $2.8 billion in 2008 (and there were more subsidies that they couldn’t quantify). Most of that came from the federal ($1.38 billion) and Alberta ($1.05 billion) governments, with the tar sands taking in the lion’s share ($1.59 billion) of this money.
To put this in perspective, more of our money is going to subsidize oil companies’ destruction in the tar sands than there is in the combined 2008 budgets of Environment Canada ($1.12 billion) and Alberta Environment ($403 million).
But what would happen if we stopped giving some of the richest companies in the world billions in public dollars to go after the dirtiest and riskiest types of oil?
MORE:
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/
government-subsidies-to-tar-sands-companies-l/blog/28184?
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G20 Summit Seoul 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... s/reports/
G20-Summit-Seoul-2010-/
Publication - November 8, 2010
G20 leaders are meeting against the backdrop of one of the hottest years on record – a year marred by fires, floods and storms. The G20 leaders must honour promises they made a year earlier to take action on climate change, cut fossil fuel subsidies and help the world kick-start a green economy. Below, find background documents for the G20 meeting held in Seoul this week.
G20 Climate Checklist
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Seoul%20Summit.pdf
Media Briefing GSI Report 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Greenpeace_Subsidies_nov2010.pdf
GSI Report
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Tax%20and%20Royalty%20Related%20Subsidies%20to%20Oil%20Extraction%20from%20High%20Cost%20Fields%20November%202010%205MB.pdf
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/
government-subsidies-to-tar-sands-companies-l/blog/28184?
utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=November%20e-news%20(1)&utm_content=
Blogpost by Keith Stewart - November 8, 2010 at 10:25
If you want to understand where governments really stand, it’s always a good idea to follow the money. That is why Greenpeace commissioned the Global Subsidies Initiative to do some research for us on tax breaks to corporations producing “high cost” oil (tar sands and deep-water off shore wells) in five countries: Canada, the US, the UK, Brazil and Mexico.
All of these countries committed to “phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that lead to wasteful consumption” at the G20 Leaders Summit in Philadelphia in 2009. No new actions have been taken since then, so we want to turn up the heat on keeping that promise when the G20 gets together again in Korea later this week.
The main conclusion of the GSI report commissioned by Greenpeace is that all five countries are providing more subsidies to oil companies than they admit publicly, and that “it makes little sense to make fiscal cutbacks [to other government programs because of rising deficits] while granting inefficient subsidies; or to attempt to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while concurrently subsidizing GHG emissions through fossil fuel subsidies.”
It also notes that these subsidies also have a more insidious long-term effect of undermining the green economy: “Subsidizing oil extraction has a range of secondary effects, including making investments in oil more attractive compared to lower carbon, lower risk alternatives, thereby increasing the lock-in of economies into fossil fuels.”
Oil companies in Canada are getting a particularly sweet deal, as the subsidies that they were able to put a dollar figure to totalled over $2.8 billion in 2008 (and there were more subsidies that they couldn’t quantify). Most of that came from the federal ($1.38 billion) and Alberta ($1.05 billion) governments, with the tar sands taking in the lion’s share ($1.59 billion) of this money.
To put this in perspective, more of our money is going to subsidize oil companies’ destruction in the tar sands than there is in the combined 2008 budgets of Environment Canada ($1.12 billion) and Alberta Environment ($403 million).
But what would happen if we stopped giving some of the richest companies in the world billions in public dollars to go after the dirtiest and riskiest types of oil?
MORE:
http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/
government-subsidies-to-tar-sands-companies-l/blog/28184?
utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=November%20e-news%20(1)&utm_content=
= = = = =
G20 Summit Seoul 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... s/reports/
G20-Summit-Seoul-2010-/
Publication - November 8, 2010
G20 leaders are meeting against the backdrop of one of the hottest years on record – a year marred by fires, floods and storms. The G20 leaders must honour promises they made a year earlier to take action on climate change, cut fossil fuel subsidies and help the world kick-start a green economy. Below, find background documents for the G20 meeting held in Seoul this week.
G20 Climate Checklist
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Seoul%20Summit.pdf
Media Briefing GSI Report 2010
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Greenpeace_Subsidies_nov2010.pdf
GSI Report
http://www.greenpeace.org/international ... rnational/
publications/climate/2010/Tax%20and%20Royalty%20Related%20Subsidies%20to%20Oil%20Extraction%20from%20High%20Cost%20Fields%20November%202010%205MB.pdf