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John Kerry, the US special envoy on climate change, on Friday denounced measures that artificially lower the prices of coal, oil or gas by governments, calling fossil fuel subsidies “the definition of insanity”.
Speaking at the United Nations climate summit, where negotiators from nearly 200 countries are trying to agree on a deal that averts the worst effects of climate change, Kerry called for the rapid removal of subsidies. But he defended the new language in the latest draft of a deal that seemed to dilute the pressure to curb fossil fuels.
The newest version, released early Friday after negotiators broke into bargaining before dawn, urges countries to accelerate “the reduction of coal-fired energy and the phasing out of inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels.” The addition of the words “unreduced” and “unproductive” was seen by some environmental groups as a loophole that would allow subsidies to continue.
But Mr. Kerry argued that it “should stay” in the final agreement, as commercial technology could be developed to capture and store carbon dioxide emissions in the future. He said countries that “know what the evidence is” about how sharply global emissions need to be cut cannot ignore the use of new technologies.
But he spoke strongly about ending fossil fuel subsidies on a large scale. The UN Development Program recently calculated that the world spends $423 billion each year subsidizing oil, gas and coal; that’s nearly four times the amount needed to help poor countries tackle climate change.
“This is a definition of insanity,” said Mr. Kerry, adding that insuring oil, gas and coal allows governments to “feed the problem we’re here to treat.” It doesn’t make sense.”
Officials from other countries argued that the terms “continuous” and “inefficient” should be removed from the agreement.
“We need clear language about the need to eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies and accelerate coal power phasing out, not just inefficient ones,” said Andrea Meza, Costa Rica’s environment minister. Tina Stege, climate ambassador for the Marshall Islands, a South Pacific country threatened by rising sea levels“Fossil fuel subsidies are paying the price for our own destruction,” he said.
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