The Ukraine war and the subsequent energy crisis have sparked a surge of more than $1.4 trillion in G20 public subsidies to the fossil fuel sector, according to a report released ahead this year’s G20 summit due to be held in early September in India.
While much of these subsidies (around $ 900 billion) were aimed at alleviating the effects of rising energy prices for consumers, governments also invested some $440 billion in new fossil fuel production, according to research published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
Researchers call on G20 leaders to eliminate all public subsidies on fossil fuel production and introduce targeted welfare payments to consumers, rather than indirectly subsidising oil and gas firms.
The report also revealed that in the period from 2019 to 2021, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United States were the biggest spenders in terms of public fossil fuel investment, with more than four times as much being invested in fossil fuels compared to renewable energy.
Leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa are meeting in Johannesburg this week to discuss international collaboration, with Russia being notably absent due to an International Criminal Court warrant against Vladimir Putin. But amid political debates over a potential expansion of the emerging market alliance, climate change appears to have dropped off the radar.
The meeting takes place just weeks ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi at the beginning of September, where a significant section of the agenda has been earmarked for talks on climate change. But shared commitments to reduce the use of fossil fuels have so far been vetoed by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
India has pledged to be net zero by 2070 while China, Russia and Brazil intend to hit the milestone in 2060. South Africa hopes to be net zero by 2050.
