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CAN EUROPE'S LATEST TAKE ON THE ISSUE
Fossil fuel subsidies at COP23
Maeve McLynn
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 We remind governments of how the Paris Agreement requires an end to fossil fuels subsidies
Last year, ahead of COP22 CAN Europe and Overseas Development Institute published a briefing entitled ‘Pathways in the Paris Agreement for ending fossil fuel subsidies’. Alongside opportunities through the G20, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and SDGs, the Paris Agreement provides a number of pathways to support countries to phase out public finance and subsidies to fossil fuels. However, almost two years on from the landmark agreement, our recommendations and suggestions still need to be taken on board by governments and financial institutions that still continue to fund fossil fuels.
In an effort to remind governments and Parties discussing international climate action at COP23 in Bonn, we share our briefing once again to remind and emphasise the opportunities in the Paris Agreement to facilitate a fair, managed and ambitious phase out of fossil fuel subsidies.
The briefing and recommendations can be found here.
Events that seek to address and discuss fossil fuels subsidies
Despite the sluggish progress of some of the world’s biggest economies - namely the G20 - in tackling their fossil fuel subsidies, other countries are demonstrating their support for more action.
At a COP23 side event organised by the International Institute for Sustainable Development - Global Subsidies Initiative, Hon Aupito William Sio, Minister for Pacific Peoples made a speech that highlighted the importance of fossil fuel subsidy reform towards meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The Minister echoed sentiments made by many groups and activists involved in the movement against fossil fuel subsidies; notably that fossil fuel subsidies must be eliminated and that:
“The significant domestic resources saved from Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform can be effectively redirected to other objectives including supporting contributions under the Paris Agreement.”
STOP FFS digitial campaign during COP23
 During Week 2 of the COP, Legambiente, Oil Change International and CAN Europe are publishing a number of infographics on fossil fuel subsidies, together with social media posts.
The aim of this campaign is two-fold:
- Draw the attention of governments and citizens to all the crazy figures that we have found in researching subsidies.
- Push decision-makers to urgently implement their commitment to phase out all forms of fossil fuel subsidies by 2020, and shift financial flows towards a just, clean and renewable energy transition.
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Help us spread the word as much as possible on social media and elsewhere!
 
Click on share on the twitter and facebook images above to share the main post of the digital campaign.
You can also share the following other infographics on Europe, on Multilateral Development Banks here and here, and one on Italy.
Future EU budget: countdown is on, will the next generation of EU funds become entirely climate proof?
Markus Trilling
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With the European Commission having published its ‘Reflection paper on the future of EU finances post-2020’ and the European Parliament coming to terms with its own position on the next EU budget finally the European Council as the last of the three institutions kicked off the game by publishing its debates’ agenda.
 Here’s the entire playbook:
Until the end of 2017 the European Commission continues elaborating its post-2020 EU budget proposal, including the related set of legislation. There are some encouraging signs coming from Berlaymont: ‘future Cohesion Policy needs to take COP 21 into account’ we hear, does that imply no more support for gas infrastructure under the EU‘s regional development funding?
EU Commissioner for Climate Action & Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete indeed sings from the same sheet. During a get-together of the who-is-who on clean energy financing in Brussels at the beginning of this week (read our joint appeal towards Cañete and EP president Tajani, the organisers of the event, here) he was confident in proclaiming: “Making our budget an integral part of the energy transition means aligning it to the maximum possible extent with our policy objectives. Climate mainstreaming is a powerful vehicle for ensuring financial support for our 2030 energy and climate policy target and longer-term decarbonisation goals. This has worked well. Setting a 20% target for climate-related spending has put consideration of climate and clean energy at the centre of design and implementation of all EU programmes. This also means ensuring that the EU budget does not finance actions that are incompatible with our ambitions in terms of climate policy and clean energy transition.”
Further on, by the end of 2017 the European Parliament will adopt its position on post-2020 EU budget, see the latest developments here, bold climate action and Fossil Fuel Subsdies phase out in the next MFF not a done deal yet in the Parliament.
And at the European Council on 23 February 2018 the Heads of Governments will debate the political priorities on the next EU budget for the first time.
While the V4 countries’ saber-rattling swelling (the ‘Visegrad core group’ includes Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), their ‘no-strings-attached’ stand might encounter resistance by those (net-payer) countries which want to see more ‘EU added-value’ coming from the EU budget, e.g. in the form of climate action commitments from those countries and regions which receive most. Here is what Finance Ministers should read on the train to Brussels that day.
The moments of truth then in May 2018 with Commission publishing its Communication the EU budget post-2020 - followed by all legislative proposals for all budget lines and investment programmes (around 70 pieces of regulations) until July 2018.
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OECD updates its fossil fuel subsidies database up to 2016 for most countries
Click here to view the database
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