The government gives a lots of subsidies on the fossil fuels every year – more than a trillion dollars in 2022! But using fossil fuel also causes problems for the environment and people’s health, which end up costing over 5 trillion dollars a year. Considering the challenges that today’s world is facing, there are other more effective alternatives towards which these billions and trillions of dollar should be diverged to, i.e. towards more sustainability driven initiatives.

Studies have found that air pollution from fossil fuels causes around 8.7 million early deaths each year. Plus, it’s messing up the climate big time. It’s a huge number, and it means that the fossil fuels when subsidized result in the suffering of humans from the bad health and environmental issues, which must be stopped. So, it’s high time to change our priorities and put our money into renewable energy like wind, solar, and hydro power. It will not only help us in the fight against the changing climate, but it’ll also create new jobs for us. Ideally, we should use this cash to create a more sustainable future for everyone.

Also, to set things in a more clear perspective before I start putting in my thoughts on how we can repurpose it is that, if we factor in the social cost of carbon (SCC), estimated at around $50 per ton of CO2, we can see the true impact of these subsidies. With $1 trillion in fossil fuel subsidies, we’re indirectly supporting the emission of around 20 billion tons of CO2. So, my intent in this blog is to give my own perspective, that is my individual perspective on different ways we could utilize this fund in a much better way. And I would love to hear your perspectives in the comment, or maybe your ideas.