Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies

Increased fiscal pressures and net-zero carbon pledges should pave the way to permanently phase out subsidies

Subsidies are intended to stimulate production and demand for fossil fuels. But in times of deficit, when budgets can hardly accommodate essential health expenditure, it is difficult to justify their use. And fossil fuel markets demonstrate they can survive on their own. Why, indeed, would society want to direct scarce resources towards fossil fuel subsidies? Mainly because industry lobbyists and consumer advocates are working hard to convince lawmakers to do so. It is imperative that society understands their detrimental effect on both markets and the economy, and importantly how much subsidies actually cost. When prices were low and fuel subsidies for consumers could not be justified, most