While Italy struggles to bring public revenues and expenditures into some kind of balance, Legambiente, the country's leading environmental organization, is suggesting it look hard at the public subsidies stimulating the use of fossil fuels. Timed to coincide with the Doha meeting and with pending economic development legislation in Italy, the organization has just released a report on the extent of Italian public subsidies for fossil fuels.
The report refers to International Energy Agency estimates that, worldwide, governments provide a total of $630 billion in subsidies to agriculture, transportation, and the oil industry which in one way or another promote use of fossil fuels. Just eliminating the subsidies -- without even talking about a carbon tax -- would do much to reduce their use.
In Italy, Legambiente estimates that direct public subsidies amount to 4.62 billion euros. These go chiefly to trucking, energy utilities, and energy intensive businesses. The organization estimates that another 4.59 billion euros in subsidies is provided for things like highway construction and oil and gas drilling. The report notes that Minister of the Environment, Corrado Clini, is no record stating that these subsidies will be reduced. On the other hand, the Minister of Economic Development, Corrado Passera, hasn't show any support for the idea.
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