Events & Actions
European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards
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Category: Event & Actions
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Published: 12 January 2017
Subsidising fossil fuels stands in the way of climate action across Europe while threatening our health, environment and economies.
Expose the financial support for dirty energy in your country by voting for the worst fossil fuel subsidies during the first ever European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards!
By voting for the worst subsidies, you contribute to exposing the hypocrisy of European governments and other public institutions’ promises to tackle climate change while at the same time funding fossil fuels.
Intro
Introduction
European countries have all agreed to scale up their efforts to tackle climate change. Still, governments and other public institutions all over Europe are spending billions of euro on funding what is causing climate change: the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. By providing subsidies - (your!) tax money - to fossil fuels, governments end up taking one step forward and two steps back when it comes to climate action.
Fossil Fuel subsidies make no sense
Subsidising fossil fuels makes no sense. It stands in the way of increasing support for climate action across Europe, causes enormous harm to the environment and contributes to disease and premature deaths. It also drains public money away from important public services such as clean energy, education and health care. Still, governments and other public institutions are stubbornly doling out these subsidies to dirty industry, refusing to put an end to them.
All their efforts to provide the dirtiest, deadliest and most hypocritical support to fossil fuels deserve some well earned public recognition so that we can increase the pressure to phase them out.
Fossil fuel subsidies?
What are fossil fuel subsidies?
It seems like our governments find it hard to agree on what fossil fuel subsidies actually are. But we - the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards Jury - think that the more time you spend trying to get the correct definition, the less time you have for fixing the problem of fossil fuel subsidies.
What constitutes a subsidy?
Similar to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), we argue that any form of government action or public intervention which lowers the cost of fossil fuel energy production or consumption can be defined as a subsidy. This includes for example direct funding (e.g. for coal mines’ operations) and tax exemptions (e.g. on diesel fuel), preferential loans and guarantees from public banks, and giving favourable access to resources, infrastructure and land. In addition, environmental degradation, air pollution and health costs stemming from extracting and burning fossil fuels is not carried by the industry but paid by society. Therefore, these ‘external costs’ are also considered as fossil fuel subsidies.
Still confusing?
Easily put, every public financial support that keeps fossil fuels burning can be considered a fossil fuel subsidy. Does any European government or other public institution that you know of provide any of the above? Sure they do. Time to vote that subsidy for an Award!
Learn more about fossil fuel subsidies
More information regarding fossil fuel subsidies in Europe can be found in the Data on fossil fuel subsidies and NGO reports and publications on FFS sections of CAN Europe's website.
About us
About us
The European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards is organised by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe in collaboration with WWF European Policy Office, Green Budget Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, CounterBalance, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), CEE Bankwatch, Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International. These organisations - which are all as stubborn in fighting fossil fuel subsidies as governments are in handing them out - are part of the Awards Jury.
The role of the jury is to select a shortlist of nominated subsidies which will then be put to a public vote. When shortlisting nominated subsidies, the jury aim to show the broad diversity of subsidies in a broad diversity of countries, while giving considerations to communication opportunities and the possible impacts of the abolishment of the subsidies on the people and the planet. Who wins the actual awards is up to YOU!
The awards jury members:
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CAN Europe Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe's largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 130 member organisations in more than 30 European countries - representing over 44 million citizens - CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe. WWF European Policy Office At WWF, we envision a world in which people and nature thrive – but we’ll only get there if we all play a role and we work together. The European Policy Office helps shape EU policies that impact on the European and global environment.
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CEE Bankwatch Network
CEE Bankwatch Network is the largest network of grassroots, environmental groups in central and eastern Europe. We monitor the activities of banks and funds that are often obscure but always important entities that function outside the realm of public scrutiny. We prevent dubious public investments that harm the planet and people’s well-being.
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Counter Balance
Challenging public investment banks is a European coalition of development and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with extensive experience working on development finance and the international financial institutions (IFIs) as well as campaigning to prevent negative impacts resulting from major infrastructure projects.
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Friends of the Earth Europe
Friends of the Earth Europe is the largest grassroots environmental network in Europe, uniting more than 30 national organisations and thousands of local groups. We campaign for sustainable and just societies and for the protection of the environment.
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Green Budget Europe(GBE)
is a Brussels-based non-profit expert platform on Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR), Our aim is to promote a transformation of Europe’s budgets and tax systems to ensure that Europe in the 21st century is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
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Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL)
The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) is a leading European not-for-profit organisation addressing how the environment affects health in the European Union (EU). We demonstrate how policy changes can help protect health and enhance people’s quality of life.
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Oil Change International
Oil Change International is a research, communication, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the coming transition towards clean energy. We focus on the fossil fuel industry because we view the production and consumption of oil, gas and coal as sources of global warming, human rights abuses, war, national security concerns, corporate globalization, and increased inequality. We also see fossil fuel industry’s interests behind every major barrier to a clean energy transition.
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Overseas Development Institute
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the UK's leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. Our mission is to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries.
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WWF European Policy Office
At WWF, we envision a world in which people and nature thrive – but we’ll only get there if we all play a role and we work together. The European Policy Office helps shape EU policies that impact on the European and global environment.
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About the Awards
About the Awards
The concept of the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards is simple. All forms of fossil fuel subsidies (in Europe) are inefficient, harmful to our health and the environment and they block the transition to clean energy systems. But some obviously more than others, and the worst offenders deserve some well earned public recognition so that we can increase the pressure to phase them out.
Help us expose the hypocrisy
Most governments don’t like to talk about the fact that they are giving money to fossil fuels, and in some cases they do what they can to hide them. It is simply unfair to European citizens to keep these subsidies in the dark, hiding them behind nice words of climate action. By voting for subsidies, you contribute to exposing the hypocrisy of European governments and other public institutions' promises to tackle climate change while at the same time funding fossil fuels.
What happens when?
Since governments and other public institutions spend your tax money on destroying your climate, your local environment and your health, you should be the one deciding who the winners will be.
Get ready - here is how it goes: Between February 1st and 28th you can nominate any subsidy that you know a government or another public institution in Europe is giving out (remember to have a look at what is considered a fossil fuel subsidy in the 'What are fossil fuel subsidies' section) by using the nomination form here on the website. After the nomination period has closed, the Awards Jury will then select a shortlist of nominated subsidies that will be put to a public vote. The Jury will present the shortlisted nominations at the end of March. Between April 10th and May 8th the public (including you!) can vote to decide the winners.
The award winners will be presented at a public awards ceremony in Brussels end of May 2017. You don’t want to miss that!
But first - go ahead and vote for the worst subsidies!
And the winners are...
The Awards winners
9 national governments and the EU have won awards. See below which ones.
To get more information on each prize and the subsidy associated, click on the medals (or cick on the candidates tab above)
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DEADLY FUNDING
AWARDS
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DIRTY TAX GIFT
AWARDS
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SNEAKY SPECIAL TREATMENT
AWARDS
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Poland
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Norway
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Ireland
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Romania
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Estonia
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Turkey
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Germany
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Hungary
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Slovakia
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EU JURY SPECIAL PRIZE
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The award ceremony
The Awards results have been announced at the Ceremony in Brussels! Check out the video of the Ceremony below and check the CAN Europe facebook page to like and share the video and photos.
