Fossil fuel subsidies stymie pollution curbs: IEA report

London

SUBSIDIES for fossil fuels are overwhelming efforts to curb pollution, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.

Tax-breaks, subsidised fuel prices and other government support amount to an incentive to pollute worth US$115 per tonne of carbon dioxide, the agency said on Monday in its Energy and Climate Change report. That compares with an average US$7 cost to buy emission permits in carbon markets, according to the Paris-based group.