agricultural subsidies

Global nature pact urged to reform harmful subsidies of $1.8 trln a year

Subsidies that are harming ecosystems, wildlife and the climate amount to nearly $2 trillion a year, researchers said on Thursday, calling for the subsidies to be reformed under talks on a global nature pact due to be agreed in the coming months.

The researchers found that annually the fossil fuel industry receives $640 billion in support and environmentally harmful agricultural activities get $520 billion, while $350 billion flows to unsustainable freshwater use and the management of water and wastewater infrastructure.

Identifying and assessing subsidies and other incentives harmful to biodiversity: A comparative review of existing national-level assessments and insights for good practice

Despite calls for the reform of incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity, including under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its 2011-2020 Aichi Targets, very few countries to date have undertaken what is considered the first step in this process, namely, to identify and assess the types and magnitudes of any incentives in place at the national level which are harmful for biodiversity or the environment more broadly.

Reforming environmentally harmful subsidies for a resource efficient Europe

This study (main report - data annexes) led by IEEP and carried out in collaboration with IVM, Ecologic Institute and VITO aims to support the European Commission in implementing the call in the Resource Efficiency Roadmap to phase out EHS by 2020. The study identifies a number of existing EHS in EU Member States across a range of environmental sectors and issues.

Bioethanol Boondoggle

...Promoters of the ethanol mandate assert that it would help the United States achieve energy independence and slow the accumulation of greenhouse gases that are driving climate change. Evaluating the scientific and economic claims being made for bioethanol can be vexing, but a few urgent questions come to mind: if bioethanol is such a good energy deal, why must refiners and consumers be forced to use it?

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