{"id":4572,"date":"2021-07-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-fossil-fuel-subsidies\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T12:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T12:35:18","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-fossil-fuel-subsidies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/climate\/everything-you-need-to-know-about-fossil-fuel-subsidies\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need to Know About Fossil Fuel Subsidies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Ending fossil fuel subsidies<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our government gives away $20 billion in public money every year to fossil fuel corporations. It\u2019s time to shift that investment to the clean, just energy system of the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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What are fossil fuel subsidies?<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Essentially, a fossil fuel subsidy is any policy that rigs the game in favor of oil, gas, or coal compared to other energy sources. These policies come in the form of tax breaks, low-interest loans, and the failure to account for the true cost of fossil fuel pollution. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US government has subsidized coal, oil, and gas for decades, despite the fact that a <\/span>majority of voters<\/span><\/a> want to end fossil fuel subsidies. Currently, experts estimate that direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry total around <\/span>$20 billion every year<\/span><\/a>, $15 billion of that from the federal government. Indirect subsidies \u2014 policies that aren\u2019t targeted at fossil fuel corporations specifically but still benefit them \u2014 total a whopping <\/span>$649 billion per year<\/span><\/a> in the US alone. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time for our government to divest from systems of exploitation and extraction, like fossil fuels, and begin investing in community health and well-being. Ending fossil fuel subsidies is a vital first step.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Three reasons to end fossil fuel subsidies:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

1. Fossil fuel companies are responsible for the climate crisis.<\/b><\/h4>\n\n

We cannot continue to burn fossil fuels and limit global warming at the same time. Not even if we plant a trillion trees, and especially not if we continue subsidizing the very corporations responsible for the crisis we\u2019re in today. Burning fossil fuels \u2014 coal, oil, and gas \u2014 for heat, electricity, and transportation is the <\/span>single-largest contributor<\/span><\/a> to the climate crisis. Just fifty fossil fuel <\/span>companies<\/span><\/a> account for half of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Here\u2019s the hard truth<\/strong>: Fossil fuel extraction projects that are already underway would produce enough climate pollution to push us well beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming. Continuing to explore for and develop new reserves of coal, oil, and gas would spell climate catastrophe \u2014 that\u2019s not where our tax dollars should be going. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Even in the middle of a climate crisis, oil and gas corporations are still planning new drilling projects. These projects wouldn\u2019t be possible without subsidies from the federal government. Because subsidies reduce operating expenses and pass on the real cost of pollution to consumers, oil production would <\/span>quickly become unprofitable<\/span><\/a> in the United States without them. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise that oil lobbyists at the American Petroleum Institute and their Republican allies are determined to hold on to the tax breaks and loopholes they\u2019re used to. Their survival depends on it. But what\u2019s bad for oil lobbyists is good for the rest of us \u2014 if we end fossil fuel subsidies we can reinvest that money in a just transition to renewable energy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

2. Fossil fuel pollution is racism in action.<\/b><\/h4>\n\n

Climate destruction is only possible in a world in which racism is tolerated. Extracting, refining, and burning fossil fuels releases all kinds of toxic pollution. It poisons the air and water of nearby communities, which are disproportionately Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class. Fossil fuels killed <\/span>8.7 million people<\/span><\/a> globally in 2018 alone. In the United States, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is<\/span> linked<\/span><\/a> to an estimated 350,000 deaths every year, disproportionately in communities of color. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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At home and around the world, people of color are forced to endure a disproportionate burden of toxic pollution<\/a> while a small handful of overwhelmingly white fossil fuel executives and shareholders rake in millions of dollars in profits. This system isn\u2019t fair. Ending fossil fuel racism means transitioning from an extractive economy to one that puts people and the planet first. It means achieving justice for the communities that have dealt with fossil fuel pollution for generations, and creating new opportunities for everyone to thrive in the renewable energy economy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not a dime of our tax dollars should go towards corporations that poison our communities and wreck our climate<\/strong>. By ending government subsidies for fossil fuels, we can fight the climate crisis and work towards justice, dignity, and well-being for everyone at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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3. Fossil fuel companies are blocking climate solutions.<\/b><\/h4>\n\n

Subsidies make it easier for fossil fuel corporations to invest in lobbying operations that block efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Between 2000 and 2016, fossil fuel interests <\/strong><\/span>spent<\/a><\/strong> nearly $2 billion to derail climate legislation<\/strong>. Think about that. Some of the largest and most profitable corporations in the world receive billions of dollars from the federal government, which allows them to go and spend billions of dollars influencing federal policy. That\u2019s not how democracy is supposed to work. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

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By ending fossil fuel subsidies, we can cut into massive corporate profits and reduce the stranglehold these companies have on our democracy<\/strong>. And as the political might of the fossil fuel industry fades, the political power of our movements \u2014 driven by young people, frontline leaders, Indigenous communities, farmers and landowners, activists, and Green New Deal champions \u2014 will continue to rise. That\u2019s how we get to the future we\u2019re fighting for.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That\u2019s long enough.\u201d \u2013 President Obama, State of the Union Address, 2012.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Learn more about…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Greenpeace USA activists held a street theater performance demanding members of Congress endorse the End Polluter Welfare Act which was just reintroduced today and eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies via the American Jobs Plan. \nThe satirical game show \u201cThe Big Oil Cash Grab\u201d featured \u201cfossil fuel industry CEOs\u201d as contestants as they grabbed \u201ctaxpayer-funded handouts\u201d from inside a cash booth near the US Capitol.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Tim Aubry \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The climate emergency<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Related news and updates<\/h2>\n
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