Paying for Climate Chaos: U.S. Federal Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Production
“Paying for Climate Chaos” reveals the staggering scope of federal government subsidies for fossil fuel production.
“Paying for Climate Chaos” reveals the staggering scope of federal government subsidies for fossil fuel production. While working families struggle with the rising cost of housing, groceries, and utilities, the report finds that the federal government currently hands the fossil fuel industry an estimated $34.8 billion annually, further enriching Big Oil and Gas CEOs, shareholders, and investors.
Download the report Read the Press Release
This figure is a conservative estimate and likely much higher, due to a lack of accessible, reliable data. It excludes tens of billions of annual state, county, and municipal subsidies for fossil fuel production as well as federal support in the form of international public finance, military expenditures to protect fossil fuel supply or markets, or environmental and health costs of fossil fuel pollution.
Key findings of the report include:
- The fossil fuel industry is set to receive $34.8 billion in handouts every year – over $4 billion of which were added by Trump and Republicans this year. These handouts have more than doubled since 2017, the last time Oil Change International studied the issue.
- Fossil fuel companies, which spend millions every year to rig our political system in their favor, receive a 30,000% return on investment in the forms of tax breaks, direct appropriations, cheap access to public lands, and other handouts from the federal government.
- If leaders fail to act, federal subsidies for fossil fuel production could soar to hundreds of billions of dollars per year in the coming decade.
- Redirecting public money away from the fossil fuel industry could provide 3 million families with SNAP benefits annually, or help 54 million households install solar panels within a decade.
The report includes recommendations for reducing and eventually eliminating fossil fuel subsidies as quickly as possible (for full recommendations, download the report).
- Congress should repeal the billions of dollars per year in fossil fuel subsidies, including for carbon capture and fossil hydrogen.
- A future administration should end subsidies across federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and more.
- Federal agencies and Congress should ensure transparency in fossil fuel tax breaks and subsidies reporting.
- Politicians should push to end fossil fuel expansion, fund a just transition, and support a clean, renewable energy economy.
Collin Rees, Oil Change International United States Campaign Manager and report author, said:
“We’re paying $35 billion per year to prop up a polluting, expensive energy system instead of investing our public money into clean, affordable renewable energy. Congress must stand up to Big Oil and Gas, eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, and redirect those billions toward the things our communities actually need: healthcare, housing, and clean, affordable, renewable energy.
“It’s time to stop paying polluters to wreck our planet. The Trump administration’s fossil-fueled corruption and attacks on working people provide an opportunity for a new agenda grounded in a bold vision to end the fossil fuel era. We must invest in a renewable energy future that values the dignity and well-being of all — not just a handful of fossil fuel executives and shareholders.”
John Beard Jr., Founder and Executive Director of Port Arthur Community Action Network, said:
“Port Arthur is the belly of the beast when it comes to fossil fuel expansion. My community is exposed to toxins from liquefied natural gas plants, oil refineries, and petrochemical facilities. These industries take their profits and leave us with toxic waste that harms our air, water, and bodies, leading to high rates of cancer, respiratory illnesses, and other maladies. Port Arthur is also being hit hard by the climate crisis the fossil fuel industry causes. Since 2005, we’ve been hit with five major hurricanes.
“It’s infuriating to know that we are paying for the harm to our own communities. Our government is using the money we pay in taxes to increase the profits of the very industries that have made Port Arthur into a sacrifice zone and claimed the lives of our loved ones. Congress must end these subsidies and put money into programs that help people survive.”