Fossil fuel subsidies at least 4 times more than committed $100 billion to developing countries

By Nuran Erkul Kaya

ISTANBUL (AA) - Fossil fuel subsidies provided by major economies have reached $400 billion annually, contributing to the continuation of "fossil fuel addiction" despite the clear effects of climate change, Executive Director of Lancet Countdown told Anadolu Agency exclusively.

Developed countries have not yet allocated the $100 billion annual climate fund required despite having already committed to promoting a just transition in the developing world.

The $100 billion climate finance has been a hot topic of debate over the past years. In 2009, developed countries committed to the goal of jointly mobilizing $100 billion a year to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation.

The goal was reaffirmed under the Paris Agreement in 2015, with the parties committing to continue delivering on the goal through 2025.

However, developed countries have failed to contribute their fair share to the committed $100 billion climate fund while many countries continue to support the use of fossil fuels.

"About 80% of the countries we have analyzed in our recent report still allocate net subsidies to fossil fuels. They have a total of $400 billion net subsidies yearly," Marina Romanello, executive director of Lancet Countdown and research fellow at the University of College London Institute for Global Health said, in an interview ahead of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) that will take place in Egypt, Sharm el-Sheikh from Nov. 6 to 18, 2022.

According to the seventh annual global report of the 2022 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change: Health at the Mercy of Fossil Fuels, 69 out of the 86 governments analyzed effectively subsidized fossil fuels, for a net total of $400 billion in 2019.

"We are still overusing fossil fuels at a point where we do not need because we have alternative sources. What we see with concern is that we still are not allocating the funds that we need to promote a just transition to allocate $100 billion to promoting the transition in the developing countries," Romanello said, being mindful of the obvious impacts of fossil fuels on health.

"Also, we are not funding properly renewable energy technologies and the investment is not quite there yet,” she added.

- Danger in dependence on volatile fossil fuels

Romanello was very vocal in calling on leaders, policymakers and negotiators to promote a low carbon energy transition and "a healthy just future" during COP27.

Describing this period "as a pivotal moment and critical juncture", she called on leaders to jointly address the current crises that the world is going through with climate crisis.

"This is a critical juncture because we are seeing that countries are trying to respond simultaneous things like cost of living crisis, fossil fuel prices, energy crisis and that people desperately need energy for their basic energy needs. They are the priorities of countries now we need to address them but the priority needs to be addressing the current crisis jointly with climate crisis," she said.

She suggested promoting a low carbon energy transition that could deliver more resilient energy grids rather than turning back to fossil fuels.

"We have seen that fossil fuels are very volatile and dangerous to depend on. We could also deliver enormous health benefits like reducing over 1.2 million deaths every year from other air pollution that comes directly from the burning of fossil fuels," Romanello said.

"We could deliver more livable cities with more active travel, safer cities, more physical activity that has enormous benefits to our physical and mental health. We could have cleaner, healthier diets. So we have a way forward. We just need governments to be determined to take bold action and companies to be kept accountable for their commitments."

She emphasized that individuals have a lot of power to combat climate change, the first step being the push for bold action from decision-makers and support them when they do. Otherwise, she remarked that policymakers would never make decisions that are unpopular.

- 50% emissions reduction needed in 8 years

The impacts of the climate crisis are escalating every year, from the floods in Pakistan to the UK reaching temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius this year, Romanello said.

"Extreme weather events are at our doorstep and actually killing us every year in thousands or even millions. We are seeing children in hospital doors with asthma attacks because they cannot breathe with the toxic air that we have in our cities because of the burning of fossil fuels. Now we are seeing families struggling to afford the fuel they need, dealing with very high energy prices," she explained.

"That is because we have not delivered low carbon, healthy, affordable renewable energy. I think we need to start making the links and make this very explicit that the reason why we are getting sick, the reason why we are seeing these extreme weather events, no doubt, is climate change," she said.

Countries have announced targets to tackle climate change and to reach net zero emissions by 2050, but these targets are not on track for their successful delivery.

"If we want to avoid a very catastrophic future for our health, we need to reduce emissions by about 50% in the next eight years. And we have hit record high emissions this year. We are not quite there yet but we are going the complete opposite direction," she concluded.

To meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming by 1.5°C, greenhouse gases need to decline by unprecedented levels over the next eight years with 30% and 45% respectively to limit global warming to 2°C and 1.5°C, according to the recent report of the UN Environment Program.

However, the report said there is still no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place and the only option is urgent transformation.