Richest countries spent $74 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2011, eclipsing climate finance by seven times

In 2011, the top 11 richest carbon emitters spent an estimated $74 billion on fossil fuel subsidies, or seven times the amount spent on fast-track climate financing to developing nations, according to a recent report by the Overseas Development Institute. Worldwide, nations spent over half a trillion dollars on fossil fuel subsidies in 2011 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). "The status quo encourages energy companies to continue burning high-carbon fossil fuels and offers no incentive to change," said the report's author Shelagh Whitley. "We're throwing money at policies that are only going to make the problem worse in the long run by locking us into dangerous climate change."