Climate vulnerable nations call on G20 to end fossil fuel subsidies

The group of 49 nations highly vulnerable to climate change has called on the G20 countries to remove fossil fuel subsidies by 2020.

Ministers of the V20 group of countries said in a communique, issued on Sunday at a meeting in Washington DC, that in the face of an urgent need for climate action "all financial flows, including those of multilateral development banks, should be aligned with the Paris Agreement, the 1.5C temperature limit, and our member economies’ 100% renewable energy vision in support of sustainable development."

G20 fossil fuel subsidies amount to USD 444 billion (EUR 407bn) a year, according to a 2015 study by the Overseas Development Institute in London, which was cited in an UN news release.

One of the points of the communique says the V20 countries "call for market distorting fossil fuel production subsidies to be removed immediately and no later than 2020, and urge the G20 to set such as adopt a clear timeframe for fossil fuel subsidy elimination." It adds: "Fossil fuel consumption subsidies need to be checked rigorously whether they provide an actual benefit to the poor, and subsequently should be replaced worldwide without harm to those relying on them for their basic energy needs."

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.916)

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