This huge amount of money, equal to 6.5% of global GDP, shows how fossil fuels are not only polluting the atmosphere but are so expensive their subsidy size totally eclipses the tiny amount supporting renewables by comparison.
"Energy subsidies are projected at US$5.3 trillion in 2015, or 6.5 percent of global GDP, according to a recent IMF study. Most of this arises from countries setting energy taxes below levels that fully reflect the environmental damage associated with energy consumption.
Energy subsidies are dramatically higher than previously thought. Estimates for global energy subsidies in 2011 have been revised to US$4.2 trillion, more than double the US$2.0 trillion previously reported in a 2013 IMF book, Energy Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications."
