G20 leaders to phase out fossil fuel subsidies

clipped from www.energyefficiencynews.com At the end of the G20 Summit last week in Pittsburgh, leaders agreed to phase out subsidies to fossil fuels to reduce wasteful consumption, increase investment in renewables and tackle climate change. Fossil fuel subsidies top around $300 billion a year and drive rising demand. Now, however, global leaders including Russia, India and China have agreed that the practice will cease by 2020. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and International Energy Agency (IEA), eliminating fossil fuel subsidies will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% in 2050. A firm timetable and a strategy for how the phase-out will be implemented will have to wait until the next G20 summit, however, in Canada next June. The statement from the G20 summit also pledged to stimulate investment in energy efficiency, clean energy and renewables and eliminate the barriers to trade in these sectors.