On November 1, 2022, Bloomberg NEF and Bloomberg Philanthropies released the Climate Policy Factbook.
What are the main findings of the factbook?
- G20 countries continued to provide significant financial support for fossil fuel production and consumption in 2021.
- Fossil fuel subsidies reached their highest level since 2014 in 2021, threatening Paris Agreement commitments to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
- In 2021, G20 members provided subsidies worth around USD 700 billion to the coal, oil, gas and fossil-fuel industries.
- This increased investment in emissions-intensive equipment and infrastructure and encouraged inefficient fossil fuel consumption and production.
- Coal’s share of G20 fossil fuel support is slowly declining. It has declined from 4.1 percent in 2016 to 2.9 percent in 2021. However, US$20 billion has been invested in coal in 2021. This comes despite efforts to phase out coal. The recent G20 conference and COP26 pledged to phase out this fuel.
- China contributed the highest share (26 percent) of fossil fuel subsidies in 2020. However, on a per capita basis it is lower than other G20 members. The country lags behind Saudi Arabia, Argentina and Canada when considering per capita fossil fuel subsidies.
- Canada will more than double its support for fossil fuels in 2020. United States fossil fuel subsidies increased by 57 percent in 2020 compared to 2016.
- Although policymakers have recognized the threat climate change poses to financial stability, only the European Union and the United Kingdom have passed laws or regulations requiring national disclosure of climate-risk information to investors. Currently, most G20 countries are launching pilot programs and issuing voluntary guidelines.
- Only 12 G20 countries currently implement national carbon pricing. A true carbon price is important to hold companies and consumers accountable for greenhouse gas emissions.
