Several anti oil and gas groups along with the environmental group Oil Change International are out with a report showing the U.S. government provides $7 billion a year in subsidies to support fossil fuel production on federally held lands and offshore waters.
The report says the billions in aid comes through a combination of direct subsidies, enforcement loopholes, lax royalty collection, stagnant leases rates and other advantages to the industry.
The study was released in partnership with 350.org, WildEarth Guardians, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water Action, Food and Water Watch and Public Citizen. Entitled “Unequal Exchange: How Taxpayers Shoulder the Burden of Fossil Fuel Development on Federal Lands,” the report indicated the subsidies could reach as high as nearly $18 billion a year as of of 2015.
“Rex Tillerson and other members of the Trump administration deny that these subsidies even exist just like they deny climate change. The reason is clear — in both cases, if you admit the truth the only answer is a managed decline of the fossil fuel industry,” said Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International. “The first step towards that is to stop supporting the industry with our public dollars. These subsidies are a raw deal for American taxpayers, and a disaster for our climate.”
