Reforming fossil fuel subsidies

摘要

As global attention on the overall issue of fossil fuel subsidies has become more widespread and focused, so has the debate regarding the discrepancies between and among developed and developing nations on precisely how governmental support is both calculated and allocated, Three years ago, the Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors stated the organisation's intention was to 'rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption'. However, following those fine words at the G20 2009 Pittsburgh Summit in the US, the perception is widespread that very few practical and positive measures have since been put into effect to help achieve this goal. Indeed, in some critical areas, overall momentum towards reform actually appears to have regressed.