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Welcome
to the monthly newsletter for journalists about the impact of subsidies,
produced in partnership by IPS
- Inter Press Service and GSI
- Global Subsidies Initiative.
THIS
MONTH'S FOCUS:
ENERGY SUBSIDIES
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Subsidies can place a heavy burden on government finances, weaken foreign trade balances and stunt the growth of economies. This issue of the IPS-GSI Subsidy E-newsletter reveals that depending on how they work, they can also undermine private and public investment in the energy sector, and harm the environment. |
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ABOUT
THIS NEWSLETTER
Subsidies
—transfers of public money to private interests—
are so common that for the most part they
go unnoticed; they can also be arcane and
complex, posing tremendous challenges for
journalists. Yet, many experts believe that
subsidies are one of the most critical factors
in determining the sustainability of a government’s
economic, social and environmental policies.
Read more here about the organisations that
have partnered to bring you this newsletter,
and why.
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Energy subsidies and sustainable development
By Trevor Morgan
The recent surge in international energy prices has placed energy subsidies at the forefront of the economic policy agenda in many countries, particularly where government interventions are intended to keep prices low to households and industry, or to protect indigenous energy industries from foreign competition. But experience around the world shows that, in many instances, the net overall effects of subsidies are negative, because they distort markets, are costly and open to abuse, and, where they encourage higher energy consumption, harm the environment.
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More
information about subsidies
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The Global Subsidies Initiative cooperates
with an international network of researchers
working on subsidy related issues. Journalists
working on stories that involve subsidies,
and who are in search of expertise,
information and support are invited
to contact Javed Ahmad, the GSI's Director
of Communications, at info@globalsubsidies.org.
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Subsidies to biofuels - large and getting bigger
Globally,
ethanol production has grown at double-digit
rates in each of the last four years.
This expansion has not been solely in
response to market forces; rather, government
policies, such as subsidies and mandated
use of biofuels, have been key factors.
In a new report, Biofuels - At What
Cost? Government support for ethanol
and biodiesel in selected OECD countries,
the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI)
has estimated that OECD economies subsidised
biofuels to the tune of at least 11
billion dollars in 2006. |
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Trevor Morgan - Bio
Trevor Morgan,
president of Menecon Consulting, is an internationally renowned energy
economist with more than 20 years of energy-industry experience.
SUBSIDIES
STORIES FROM IPS - RECENT ARTICLES
ENERGY-MALAYSIA: Subsidising Gas to Private Power - State Utility Pays
By Anil Netto
PENANG - A staggering 27.6 billion ringgit (8.2 billion US dollars); that's the amount the Malaysian public has incurred through gas subsidies given out over the years to private power producers by national petroleum corporation Petronas.
ENERGY: Report Challenges EU Subsidies for Biofuels
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS - The European Union's support for biofuels may not be the most cost-effective way for the 27-country bloc to tackle climate change, a new study has concluded.
ENERGY-SWEDEN: Wood Cellulose - Alternative to Brazilian Ethanol?
By Loukas Christodoulou
STOCKHOLM - The world’s car makers are racing each other to produce powerful new models that run on ethanol-based fuels for the booming Swedish market.
BIOFUELS: NO SILVER BULLET AGAINST FOSSIL FUELS
By Vicente Paolo Yu III
OCTOBER 2007 (IPS) - While increasing the proportion of biofuels in the fuel mix for motor vehicles is a step in the right direction, it is not the ''silver bullet'' that will break the world's dependence on fossil fuels, writes Vicente Paolo Yu III, coordinator of the Global Governance for Development Programme at the South Centre.
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