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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:
The high cost of energy subsidies
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Are energy subsidies going up or down? Should governments be looking to reduce their fossil fuel subsidies? Are subsidies a sensible way to achieve energy-policy objectives? An internationally renowned energy economist answers these questions. |
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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. By conservative estimates, over US$1
trillion is spent annually on government subsidies worldwide. That money has far
reaching effects, going well beyond the stated policy goals used to justify the
subsidy itself. This monthly IPS-GSI Subsidy E-newsletter is designed to help
journalists identify ways in which subsidies crucially affect efforts to achieve
a more sustainable future.
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"Oil companies prefer to work in competitive markets"
An interview with Trevor Morgan
As governments try to soften the blow of higher international oil prices, subsidies have gone up quite substantially in the last couple of years. What do we know about the scale of energy subsidies around the world? What types of energy sources are the biggest benefactors of these subsidies?
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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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Trevor Morgan - Bio
Trevor Morgan is an internationally renowned energy economist with more than 20 years of energy-industry experience. He is with the International Energy Agency (IEA). He previously founded the independent energy-consulting firm, Menecon Consulting.
SUBSIDIES
STORIES FROM IPS - RECENT ARTICLES
DEVELOPMENT-MALAWI: Irrigation Promises to Increase Food Security
By Pilirani Semu-Banda
LILONGWE - Wyson Chandanga, a small-holder Malawian farmer from the northern district of Mzimba, does not care if the country receives enough rain this year. He is also not concerned on whether the rains come on time or not.
DEVELOPMENT-SWAZILAND: Don't Blame Donor Dependency
By James Hall
MBABANE - What happens to a nation whose people depend on the largesse of international donor agencies for their existence, once support is withdrawn?
TRADE: Old Talks Never Die
By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA - "History tells us that multilateral trade negotiations never die, and the current Doha Round is no exception," said economist Carlos Pérez del Castillo, Uruguay’s former permanent representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and chairman of the global body’s General Council in 2003 and 2004.
CUBA: Foreign Investors Keen on Sugar Production
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA - Foreign direct investment in the sugar industry is acceptable to the Cuban government for producing alcohol and other derivatives, but it continues to be a topic that the authorities prefer not to talk about, at least in public, although experts regard it as desirable for the recovery of the industry.
ECONOMY-US: Activists Target Corporate Chiefs' Tax Subsidies
By Abid Aslam
WASHINGTON - U.S. taxpayers shell out 20 billion dollars a year to pad business chiefs' earnings and to prop up the world's most lopsided corporate pay scales, say activists seeking to highlight inequality in this election year.
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