By EDDY AKPOR
A climate change advocacy group, canvassing alternative sources of cleaner energy, We Don’t Have Time, has revealed that world governments spend $11 million every minute on fossil fuel subsidy.
It said the amount is just under $6 trillion a year, according to calculations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government spending such a staggering amount of public funds are the same governments that have made commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement to decarbonise their economies and collectively achieve a net-zero emission world by 2050.
“How can this be? Who benefits from the subsidies and what effect do they have on our societies, today and tomorrow? The group queried.
In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched the #DontChooseExtinction campaign, featuring Frankie the dinosaur.
“It is UNDP’s most successful campaign ever and has reached 1,5 billion on social media. It also helped bring fossil fuel subsidies up on the agenda during the climate conference. Now it’s time for the next step: the Dino Talks.
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“Dino Talks is a whole new broadcast series co-created by UNDP and We Don’t Have Time, and supported by the circular tech company Prime Computer. In 10 episodes, Dino Talks will bring in experts to help dig deeper into the fossil fuel subsidies and how they accelerate everything from extreme weather events to deadly health problems, while also slowing down innovation and sustainable development,” it said.
UNDP’s Global Partnership & Campaigns Manager and a key force behind the #DontChooseExtinction campaign, Boaz Paldi, said: “With the Don’t Choose Extinction campaign, we sparked a global conversation around the issue of fossil fuel subsidies.
“The partnership with We Don’t Have Time was pivotal in reaching citizens across the globe. Dino Talks is the natural evolution of the excellent partnership and will allow our audience a deep dive into this very critical issue.”
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of We Don’t Have Time, said: “The fossil-fuel subsidies have managed to stay under the radar for decades. Last year’s amazing UNDP campaign was a wake-up call, and we are extremely proud to extend our partnership with UNDP by taking the next step in spreading awareness about this destructive spending of public funds. We aim high and expect to reach millions of viewers globally.”
The first three episodes of Dino Talks will be co-hosted by Boaz Paldi and Nick Nuttall, one of the world’s leading experts in environmental communication.
A former Director of Communications and Spokesperson for the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Nuttall, has led the communications team at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and was the UN spokesperson for the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. He is now Director of Global Communications at We Don’t Have Time.
On Why The World Still Subsidise Fossil Fuels, Head of Strategic Engagement and Chief Economist at UNDP, George Gray Molina from Bolivia, has helped to coordinate several landmark reports on fossil fuel subsidies on March 14 for episode 1.
Scientist with the Stockholm Environment Institute, Ploy Achakulwisuta from the United States (U.S.) served as a SustainUS youth delegate to the 2014 UN climate negotiations and was included in Grist magazine’s top 50 fixers in 2019.
Senior energy analyst at the International Renewable Energy Agency, Michael Taylor (New Zealand), will anchor discussions on Deeper Dive Into Damage Caused By Fossil Fuel Subsidies with Head of the Climate Finance Unit at the UN Environment Programme and lead author on the State of Finance for Nature, Ivo Mulder (Netherlands) for episode 2 on April 2, 2022.
On Why Are Governments Struggling To Change, Senior Policy Advisor and Lead, Indonesia at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, Lourdes Sanchez (Spain) and Head of the Division for Environmental Performance and Information at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Nathalie Girouard (Canada), will lead discussions on episode 3 on May 2, 2022.
