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Living within a living, loving planet
Posts tagged government subsidies
The Next Downturn
Jul 8th
Only 6 minutes and twenty four seconds “Human Population Through Time”
“It took 200,000 years for our population to reach 1 Billion and only 200 years to reach 7 Billion!!!! As our population has grown, so has our use of Earth’s resources. Choices we make today affect the future of our species and all life on Earth.”
If you don’t look at anything else today, please take the six minutes to view this video produced by the American Museum of Natural History. It doesn’t say who funded it!.
Next Downturn
Why The Next Downturn Will Be The Most Destructive In Modern History — And The
Why You Must Act Now In Order To Preserve Your Wealth (and the Planet!)
by Adam Taggart
Tuesday, May 7, 2019, 2:37 PM
Peak Prosperity
“Our society’s pursuit of endless economic growth is unsustainable.
We’re at the point where we’ve sabotaged our future by taking on too much debt, while at the same moment, we’ve started to run dangerously low on the resources necessary to run our modern way of living, straining key ecosystems in the process.
But rather than change our behavior, we’re doubling down on our faith in growth, creating dangerous financial bubbles that threaten to ruin our economy when they burst.
And worse than that, we’re depleting our remaining precious resources — such as energy deposits, rich topsoils, underground aquifers, ocean fisheries, key commercial minerals — at rates that can never recover in our lifetime.
At this stage, it’s unrealistic to expect our government to ride the rescue in time, if at all — even if it weren’t dysfunctionally focused on protecting the very status quo that’s killing us.
Instead, we need to become our own heroes.”
Can we Afford the Green New Deal?
Apr 6th
Can we afford the Green New Deal? Can there be a doubt?
How Large Are Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies?
“$5.3 trillion in 2015 (6.5% of global GDP)”
Volume 91, March 2017, Pages 11-27
Author links open overlay panel: DavidCoady, IanParry, LouisSears, BaopingShang
Show more
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2016.10.004
Summary
“This paper estimates fossil fuel subsidies and the economic and environmental benefits from reforming them, focusing mostly on a broad notion of subsidies arising when consumer prices are below supply costs plus environmental costs and general consumption taxes.
Estimated subsidies are $4.9 trillion worldwide in 2013 and $5.3 trillion in 2015 (6.5% of global GDP in both years). Undercharging for global warming accounts for 22% of the subsidy in 2013, air pollution 46%, broader vehicle externalities 13%, supply costs 11%, and general consumer taxes 8%. China was the biggest subsidizer in 2013 ($1.8 trillion), followed by the United States ($0.6 trillion), and Russia, the European Union, and India (each with about $0.3 trillion). Eliminating subsidies would have reduced global carbon emissions in 2013 by 21% and fossil fuel air pollution deaths 55%, while raising revenue of 4%, and social welfare by 2.2%, of global GDP.”
Photo from Pixabay
America spends over $20bn per year on fossil fuel subsidies
Aug 1st
America spends over $20bn per year on fossil fuel subsidies. Abolish them
While we need to leave fossil fuels in the ground, America is giving the fossil fuel industry billions to extract more
Dana Nuccitelli
Mon 30 Jul 2018
“The OCI report noted that the Obama administration actually proposed to eliminate 60% of federal fossil fuel industry subsidies, but that proposal went nowhere for one obvious reason:
In the 2015-2016 election cycle oil, gas, and coal companies spent $354 million in campaign contributions and lobbying and received $29.4 billion in federal subsidies in total over those same years – an 8,200% return on investment.”
Why can’t we lower CO2 levels?
Jun 30th
Peak oil has either passed or will occur any day now. Informed ecological professionals warn us that fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Where will the money come from to enable airlines to pay for their new aircraft? Where will the money come from to pay for airport expansion? Who is paying for dirty coal extraction and fracking? The answer is taxpayers! In a half an hour I was able to find reliable evidence at the incredible amount of worldwide government subsidies that underpin economic expansion. How can the expanding volume of CO2 and other GHGs be lowered if the obvious coalition of government policy and corporate profit objectives continue?
View references below: Note, increases in commercial aircraft, airports, coal fired power, oil extraction and extensive subsidies.
Airlines Add Capacity Strategically As Demand For Air Travel Soars
Trefis Team Trefis Team , Contributor 8/26/2014
Boeing’s profits surge as commercial aircraft sales increase
22 Apr 2015
“The world now consumes 85 million barrels of oil per day, or 40,000 gallons per second, and demand is growing exponentially.”
“Economic life is ultimately determined by the ability of an aircraft to generate profits for the airlines that operate it both in absolute terms and also relative to alternative aircraft types that might be available as competitors at the outset or introduced later in its life. As a broad rule of thumb, current generation 100+ seat commercial jets will have an economic life of around 25 years, although plenty will still be in commercial service beyond 30 years and life extension through cargo conversion is also possible for some aircraft.”
http://avolon.aero/aircraft-as-investments/
“In reality, some industries consistently achieve excess returns (ROIC [ return on invested capital > WACC) [,weighted average cost of capital] often due to structural or regulatory factors. In any regulated industry, entry – and exit – are typically distorted in some way. The airline sector achieves one of the lowest levels of ROIC of any industry and is one of the few that consistently fails to meet its WACC.”
“According to IATA’s Jun-2013 report “’Profitability and the air transport value chain’”
“the airline industry generated an average return on invested capital (ROIC) of 4.1% in the 2004 to 2011 business cycle, a very small improvement on the 3.8% achieved in the 1996 to 2004 cycle. This remains well below the weighted average cost of capital (WACC), which falls in a range of 7% to 9%.”
“The airline sector achieves one of the lowest levels of ROIC of any industry and is one of the few that consistently fails to meet its WACC.”
“The failure to generate economic returns (i.e. where ROIC > WACC) reflects problems both with the airline industry supply chain and the structure of the industry. Every other element in the supply chain generates higher returns than airlines themselves, in some cases significantly higher.”
“A central argument of some U.S. airlines seeking government protection from foreign competition is that the Persian Gulf States have been inappropriately and unfairly helping the Gulf carriers become established with financial aid. What this report shines a bright light on is the simple fact that government assistance has long been provided on a very large scale to airlines around the world, including in the U.S.,” stated BTC [Business Travel Coalition] Chairman Kevin Mitchell.”
“In addition to federal subsidies, U.S. airlines also benefit from state subsidies. Unite Here, a union affiliated with the AFL-CIO, issued a report last month claiming that U.S. airlines receive state subsidies that it says amount to $1 billion a year.”
“It is time to ensure U.S. airlines and their workers are operating on a level playing field with their state-funded competitors in the Middle East. U.S. airlines shouldn’t have to compete with the treasuries of foreign governments who offer their state-owned carriers blank checks.”
http://skift.com/2015/04/09/wikileaks-disclosure-shows-u-s-airlines-received-billions-in-subsidies/
“The petition, presented to the Parliament Petitions Committee chair Cecilia Wikström and Green MEP Keith Taylor, calls for an end to the absurd situation where European governments miss out on €40 billion every year because commercial airlines pay no tax on fuel and are exempt from VAT.”
Fossil fuels subsidised by $10m a minute, says IMF
‘Shocking’ revelation finds $5.3tn subsidy estimate for 2015 is greater than the total health spending of all the world’s governments”