Eliminating Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Current Research for the MLA Summer Debate Camp…
TOPIC: Eliminating Subsidies for Fossil Fuels
Resolved: The United States ought to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuels.
HANDOUTS AND RESEARCH PACKETS:
(Whiteboard Photos are in the folder below…)
BACKGROUND:
Fossil fuel subsidies: G20 spends billions pushing closer to climate disaster (Oil Change International, August 17, 2016):
What Is a Fossil Fuel Subsidy? A fossil fuel subsidy is any government action that lowers the cost of fossil fuel energy production, raises the price received by energy producers, or lowers the price paid by energy consumers. Essentially, it’s anything that rigs the game in favor of fossil fuels compared to other energy sources. The most obvious subsidies are direct funding and tax giveaways, but there are many activities that count as subsidies – loans and guarantees at favorable rates, price controls, governments providing resources like land and water to fossil fuel companies at below-market rates, research and development funding, and more.
Infographic: http://priceofoil.org/content/uploads/2016/05/overall_subsidies.jpg
Time for the US to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies (Natural Resources Defense Council, June 3, 2018):
A new study, the G7 Fossil Fuel Subsidy Scorecard, measured the US against other G7 countries on each country’s progress in eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. The US ranked the worst out of the G7 countries, spending over $26 billion a year propping up fossil fuels. (The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US.) How did the US manage to score so low? By continuing to subsidize fossil fuel production, and then promoting even more pro-polluter, pro-fossil initiatives since President Trump took office.
REQUIRED RESEARCH VIDEOS:
[Background] 300 Years of FOSSIL FUELS in 300 Seconds,
Post-Carbon Institute, November 8, 2010 [6 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ-J91SwP8w&feature=youtu.be
Fossil fuel subsidies: G20 spends billions to push us closer to climate disaster,
Oil Change International, August 17, 2016 [2 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6q9ZjGId-E&feature=youtu.be
NOTE: Find the video at the bottom of the page and also, please read the article too.
5 Reasons to Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies,
International Institute for Sustainable Development, September 12, 2019 [2 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ12ZKt_6PM
UN Secretary-General on Fossil Fuel Subsidies,
International Institute for Sustainable Development, September 16, 2019 [30 sec]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thnYrnjqlbw
REQUIRED RESEARCH ARTICLES:
Fact Sheet: Fossil Fuel Subsidies: A Closer Look at Tax Breaks and Societal Costs,
Environmental and Energy Study Institute, July 29, 2019
https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subsidies-a-closer-look-at-tax-breaks-and-societal-costs
In seeking fiscal reforms that have the potential to save taxpayer dollars while simultaneously addressing greenhouse gas emissions, phasing out subsidies for the fossil fuel industry should be a priority for federal policymakers. These subsidies aid an industry that is mature, well-established, and with an abundant private financing stream. Reducing the subsidies fossil fuel stakeholders receive can help correct inefficient economic interventions into energy markets, save billions of taxpayer dollars, and reduce negative social and environmental impacts.
Fossil fuel subsidies: G20 spends billions to push us closer to climate disaster,
Oil Change International, August 17, 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6q9ZjGId-E&feature=youtu.be
NOTE: Please watch the video too (at the bottom of the page).
One of the most urgent reasons to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies is the rapidly dwindling carbon budget – the remaining amount of greenhouse gases we are able to emit while having a hope of staying below the temperature warming limits agreed to by world leaders. But, there is enough carbon in the fossil fuel resources already under development, globally, to surpass those limits. Simply put, we can not develop any new oil, gas, and coal resources and hope to stay on target. In this context, putting public money towards finding and burning more fossil fuels just doesn’t make sense.
Study: U.S. Fossil Fuel Subsidies Exceed Pentagon Spending
International Monetary Fund (Study), Rolling Stone Magazine, May 8, 2019
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fossil-fuel-subsidies-pentagon-spending-imf-report-833035/
The United States has spent more subsidizing fossil fuels in recent years than it has on defense spending, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF found that direct and indirect subsidies for coal, oil, and gas in the U.S. reached $649 billion in 2015. Pentagon spending that same year was $599 billion. The study defines “subsidy” very broadly, as many economists do. It accounts for the “differences between actual consumer fuel prices and how much consumers would pay if prices fully reflected supply costs plus the taxes needed to reflect environmental costs” and other damage, including premature deaths from air pollution. These subsidies are largely invisible to the public and don’t appear in national budgets. But according to the IMF, the world spent $4.7 trillion — or 6.3 percent of global GDP — in 2015 to subsidize fossil fuel use, a figure it estimated rose to $5.2 trillion in 2017. China, which is heavily reliant on coal and has major air-pollution problems, was the largest subsidizer by far, at $1.4 trillion in 2015. But the U.S. ranked second in the world. The human, environmental and economic toll of these subsidies is shocking to the conscience. The authors found that if fossil fuels had been fairly priced in 2015, global carbon emissions would have been slashed by 28 percent. Deaths from fossil fuel-linked air pollution would have dropped by nearly half.
[OPTIONAL] \”PRO-CON\” RESEARCH ARTICLES & VIDEOS:
Fossil Fuels Facts For Kids – Complete Information About Fossil Fuels,
Kidz Feed (Education Blog), May 22, 2019
https://kidzfeed.com/fossil-fuels-facts-for-kids/
What Are The Pros And Cons Of Fossil Fuels?,
World Atlas, November 22, 2018
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-fossil-fuels.html
15 Important Fossil Fuels Pros And Cons You Need To Know,
Green Coast (Environment Blog), September 16, 2019
https://greencoast.org/fossil-fuels-pros-and-cons/
ADDITIONAL \”OPTIONAL\” RESEARCH ARTICLES & VIDEOS:
[Background] Fossil Fuels 101,
Student Energy, May 7, 2015 [3 min]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaXBVYr9Ij0&feature=youtu.be
Time for the US to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Natural Resources Defense Council, June 3, 2018
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/danielle-droitsch/time-us-end-fossil-fuel-subsidies
A new study, the G7 Fossil Fuel Subsidy Scorecard, measured the US against other G7 countries on each country’s progress in eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. The US ranked the worst out of the G7 countries, spending over $26 billion a year propping up fossil fuels. (The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and the US.) How did the US manage to score so low? By continuing to subsidize fossil fuel production, and then promoting even more pro-polluter, pro-fossil initiatives since President Trump took office.
The University of California Is Dumping Fossil Fuel Investments,
TIME Magazine, September 17, 2019
https://time.com/5679965/university-of-california-fossil-fuel-investments/
The Trump Administration Pitched Coal at a Climate Change Conference,
TIME Magazine, December 11, 2018
https://time.com/5475293/trump-fossil-fuels-cop-24-katowice/
United States Spend Ten Times More On Fossil Fuel Subsidies Than Education
Forbes Magazine, June 15, 2019
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/06/15/united-states-spend-ten-times-more-on-fossil-fuel-subsidies-than-education/
America is Increasing Oil Use Faster Than Any Other Country for the First Time in 20 Years: Report,
Newsweek, March 26, 2019
https://www.newsweek.com/america-climate-change-oil-carbon-emissions-coal-india-china-iea-paris-deal-1375010
The world\’s largest economies have increased their use of fossil fuels despite global efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions, a new report has found—and the U.S. is among those leading the way. According to new findings from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the highest energy demand for more than a decade produced record carbon emissions, driven largely by higher oil consumption in the U.S. and coal burning in China and India.
How an Oil Boom in West Texas Is Reshaping the World,
TIME Magazine, January 3, 2019
https://time.com/5492648/permian-oil-boom-west-texas/
This year the region is expected to generate an average of 3.9 million barrels per day, roughly a third of total U.S. oil production, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s enough to make the U.S., as of late 2018, the world’s largest producer of crude. The windfall has turned a nation long reliant on foreign oil into a net exporter in a few short years.
White House Decision to Send Pro-Fossil Fuel Speakers to Climate Change Summit \’Further Undermines U.S. Credibility\’,
Newsweek, December 10, 2018
https://www.newsweek.com/white-house-decision-send-pro-fossil-fuel-speakers-climate-change-summit-1251643
he two-week conference, known as COP24, has assembled representatives from nearly 200 countries to discuss the progress—or lack thereof—on pledges made as part of the 2015 Paris climate accords, from which Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2017. According to Reuters, the U.S. event—called \”Innovative Technologies Spur Economic Dynamism\”—will be held Monday afternoon. It will promote the use of coal and other non-renewable energy sources, the BBC noted. Trump\’s energy adviser, Wells Griffith, is expected to take part in the event. This is not the first time the Trump administration has attempted to undermine the summit. At last year\’s gathering in Bonn, Germany, American representatives ran a similar side meeting. The State Department said its Katowice event would \”showcase ways to use fossil fuels as cleanly and efficiently as possible, as well as the use of emission-free nuclear energy.\” Lou Leonard, of the World Wide Fund for Nature, told the BBC that the American event \”is going to further undermine the credibility of the U.S. as a party in these talks. It is going to have virtually no impact on the actual talks—it\’s a sideshow, it\’s a side event, it\’s not something related to what the parties are negotiating right now.\”
Evidence Humans Are Causing Global Warming Reaches \’Gold Standard\’,
US News & World Report, February 25, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-02-25/study-evidence-humans-are-causing-global-warming-reaches-gold-standard
A study published Monday in the journal \”Nature Climate Change\” stated that \”humanity cannot afford to ignore\” the rising temperatures over the past four decades. According to Reuters, the authors wrote that the confidence level that human activities are causing temperatures to rise reached a five-sigma level. Sigma levels are statistical measurements that gauge how certain results are. Level five indicates that the researchers\’ conclusions are more than 99.7 percent accurate. It\’s known as the \”gold standard.\” Lead author of the study Benjamin Santer said he hopes the conclusions will change the minds of skeptics and urge people to take action, Reuters reported. He said that, despite a misconception that scientists don\’t know a certain cause of climate change, \”we do.\” Scientists cite burning fossil fuels as the cause of more severe floods, droughts, heatwaves, and rising sea levels.
US Fossil Fuel Official Says Tech Can Help Coal Industry,
US News & World Report, April 22, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wyoming/articles/2019-08-22/us-fossil-fuel-official-tours-wyoming-amid-coal-shutdowns
Federal officials are considering whether to approve a purchase deal that could allow the mines to reopen. The decision hinges on federal royalties overseen by the Department of the Interior, not Winberg\’s agency, the Department of Energy. Blackjewel\’s bankruptcy is one of two in the basin this year and six since 2015 as coal-fired power plummets from about half of all U.S. electricity generation a decade ago to less than 30 percent now. Winberg\’s trip focused on fossil fuel technologies, including techniques to keep the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere from coal-fired power plants. He oversees the Energy Department\’s coal, oil, and natural gas research and development program and the Office of Petroleum Reserves, which runs oil and gasoline reserves the U.S. can use during severe supply interruptions.
Amid Urgent Climate Warnings, EPA Gives Coal a Reprieve,
US News & World Report, June 19, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-06-19/trump-epa-close-to-gutting-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants
The Trump administration has carried out a sweeping about-face on Obama-era efforts to fight climate change, easing restrictions on coal-fired power plants. Amid scientists\’ increasingly urgent warnings, the Trump administration ordered a sweeping about-face Wednesday on Obama-era efforts to fight climate change, easing restrictions on coal-fired power plants in a move it predicted would revitalize America\’s sagging coal industry. As miners in hard hats and coal-country lawmakers applauded, Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler signed a measure that scraps one of President Barack Obama\’s key initiatives to rein in fossil fuel emissions. The replacement rule gives states more leeway in deciding whether to require plants to make limited efficiency upgrades.
Amid Urgent Climate Warnings, EPA Gives Coal a Reprieve,
US News & World Report, June 19, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-06-19/trump-epa-close-to-gutting-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants
As miners in hard hats and coal-country lawmakers applauded, Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler signed a measure that scraps one of President Barack Obama\’s key initiatives to rein in fossil fuel emissions. The replacement rule gives states more leeway in deciding whether to require plants to make limited efficiency upgrades. Wheeler said he expects more coal plants to open as a result. But one state, New York, immediately said it would go to court to challenge the action, and more lawsuits are likely.
Amid Urgent Climate Warnings, EPA Gives Coal a Reprieve,
US News & World Report, June 19, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-06-19/trump-epa-close-to-gutting-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants
The EPA move follows pledges by then-candidate and then President Donald Trump to rescue the U.S. coal industry, which saw near-record numbers of plant closings last year in the face of competition from cheaper natural gas and renewables. It\’s the latest and one of the biggest of dozens of environmental regulatory rollbacks by his administration. It came despite scientists\’ cautions that the world must cut fossil fuel emissions to stave off the worst of global warming and the EPA\’s own analysis that the new rule would result in the deaths of an extra 300 to 1,500 people each year by 2030 compared to the never fully enacted Clean Power Plan, owing to additional air pollution from the power grid.
Amid Urgent Climate Warnings, EPA Gives Coal a Reprieve,
US News & World Report, June 19, 2019
https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2019-06-19/trump-epa-close-to-gutting-obama-rule-on-coal-power-plants
\”Americans want reliable energy that they can afford,\” Wheeler declared at the signing ceremony, with White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney alongside to underscore Trump\’s approval. There is no denying \”fossil fuels will continue to be an important part of the mix,\” Wheeler said. Lawmakers and industry representatives from coal states blamed federal regulation, not the market, for the decadeslong trend of declining U.S. coal use and said Wednesday\’s act would stave off more coal plant closings.
CONTACT INFORMATION (Coach Bill):
Bill Eddy,
coachbill@magnetacademy.com
714.655.8135 (I prefer text)
When contacting me, please include your name and class information (day/time). Thanks!