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Why fossil fuel subsidies are so hard to kill

Behind the struggle to stop governments propping up the coal, oil and gas industries.
  1. Jocelyn Timperley

    1. Jocelyn Timperley is a freelance climate journalist in San José, Costa Rica.

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Fossil-fuel subsidies are one of the biggest financial barriers hampering the world’s shift to renewable energy sources. Each year, governments around the world pour around half a trillion dollars into artificially lowering the price of fossil fuels — more than triple what renewables receive. This is despite repeated pledges by politicians to end this kind of support, including statements from the G7 and G20 groups of nations.

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Nature 598, 403-405 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02847-2

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