Fossil Fuel Subsidies

[prasen9]

A good article from the BBC: Fossil fuel subsidy concerns. I hope the next government seriously looks into cutting this.

[Omkara]

laws of economics work... in the long run if you don't remove these subsidies or provide alternatives then this framework is going to fall apart

[prasen9]

India's energy subsidies to renewable goes down. Subsidies But, we are still subsidizing coal, fossil fuel subsidies and electricity. Encouraging energy consumption is bad policy in a country suffering from pollution. Instead the money should be used to subsidize people who need help.

[Kumar]

India's energy subsidies to renewable goes down. Subsidies But, we are still subsidizing coal, fossil fuel subsidies and electricity. Encouraging energy consumption is bad policy in a country suffering from pollution. Instead the money should be used to subsidize people who need help.

In India, in the past I remember residential customers used to have tiered rate with rate/kwh going with higher usage. I am not sure how this works for business customers like coco cola/ pepsi. I would definitely charge a lot of money for any fast food business that use water.

[prasen9]

I would be fine asking big companies who use tons of water to pay a higher rate. But, generally, subsidizing water for some results in their wasting water or any other resource. If there is limited amount of water, we should first allocate things to people, then to farms, food companies, etc. at a sustainable rate. For example, in the U.S. they allowed drawing water at rates where the water table would be exhausted in 25 years. Now, it is after 25 years and they have to spend a whole lot more to dig further down, there is no other water available, etc. Such stupidity should be avoided and better planning is needed.

[Dada12]

I agree that fossil fuel subsidies become counterproductive in the long run. The money invested could be redirected towards clean energy and raising awareness of more responsible consumption—this would be beneficial for both the economy and the environment.