Environmentally harmful subsidies

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As environmentally harmful subsidies ( English environmentally harmful subsidy ) are subsidies referred from public funds, the environmental damage promote because they, for example, negative impact on the natural resources climate , air , soil , water and biodiversity affect or consumption of raw materials promoting.

Nature and effects

The subsidies are granted, for example, in the form of direct price subsidies, cost reductions through tax breaks or payments for ecosystem services . Important sectors are agriculture , fisheries , forestry , energy and transport . Environmentally harmful subsidies then result in a higher ecological burden than would be economically optimal.

The subsidies are justified politically, for example, to support the financially weak or to promote economic growth . Others were established as protectionist trade barriers , for example to ensure the independence of energy or food supplies.

International politics

Since the early 1990s, the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies has been part of the political agenda and has been agreed in various international agreements:

  • The Kyoto Protocol calls for the abolition of subsidies that hinder the reduction of greenhouse gases .
  • As part of the G20 resolutions in Pittsburgh in September 2009, the heads of government committed themselves to phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels that promote wasteful consumption in the medium term.
  • As part of the Europe 2020 strategy for the “Flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe”, the EU has called on the member states to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020, with the exception of socially disadvantaged groups of the population.
  • Also in the final document of the Rio + 20 conference in 2012 is the commitment to the elimination of environmentally harmful and inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels and for fishing.

According to a 2019 report by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), direct support for coal mining by the G20 governments fell from $ 22 billion a year to an average of $ 10 billion between 2014 and 2017, but increased over the same period Support for power plants, especially for the construction of coal-fired power plants in other, often poorer countries, from 17 to 47 billion US dollars per year.

Germany

Evaluation of the environmental impact of subsidies in Germany

In addition to the effects of the subsidies required by the legislature, because of which they are paid, there can always be other effects, including those on the environment. The federal government reports in the federal government's subsidy report on federal subsidies and their effects. According to the extended guidelines on subsidies, all subsidies are subject to a sustainability assessment. This is done by the relevant responsible ministry. The German sustainability strategy is the basis of the sustainability assessment . The long-term economic, ecological and social effects of the respective subsidy are considered accordingly. In the area of ​​environmental policy, this includes B. climate protection and resource conservation.

Calculations by the Federal Environment Agency for Germany

According to a study by the Federal Environment Agency in 2012, environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany amounted to approx. 57 billion euros. In 2010 it was 52 billion euros; the previously published UBA studies reported 48 billion euros for 2008 and 42 billion euros in 2006. The Federal Environment Agency updates its study about every two years.

Breakdown 2010:

  • 21.6 billion euros relate to the energy sector
* Of which 6.1 billion euros for CO 2 - emission allowances
* of which 2.5 billion euros for electricity and energy tax industry / agriculture
* thereof 2.4 billion euros for hard coal and lignite
* of which 1.9 billion euros for eco-tax industry
  • The transport sector accounted for 24.4 billion euros
* thereof 7.1 billion euros for diesel
* thereof 6.9 billion euros for kerosene
* of which EUR 3.5 billion for VAT exemption on international flights
* of which EUR 5.0 billion for the distance flat rate
* thereof EUR 1.0 billion for biofuels
* of which at least EUR 0.5 billion for company cars

Most of the environmentally harmful subsidies cannot be quantified in the fields of agriculture, forestry and fishing.

The UBA report only assesses federal subsidies. The actual volume of environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany is significantly higher due to funding programs at state, municipal and EU level.

Maria Krautzberger , President of the UBA: "It is not a sustainable policy if environmentally harmful production and consumption methods are first subsidized with billions and then further billions have to be made available from the budget in order to compensate for damage to the environment and health."

Austria

The following list of climate-damaging subsidies in Austria is based on a WIFO study from 2016 and the publication of counterproductive incentives and funding from the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism of the Republic of Austria, published on its website at the beginning of September 2019.

Promotion and Benefits in euros (as of 2017)
Discount on the diesel price 640 million
Remuneration for energy-intensive companies 400 million
Waiver of kerosene tax 380 million
Tax exemption for non-energetic use of fossil fuels
(e.g. as plastic or fertilizer) 		300 million
Land consumption through new construction funding 275 million
Flat-rate company car taxation 225 million
VAT waiver on international flights 185 million
Commuter promotion 171 million
Exemption of traffic areas from property tax 150 million
Mileage allowance without any ecological tax effect 130 million
Tax exemption for tractors 70 million
Total amount
(including other smaller grants) 		about 3.25 billion

discussion

General criticism of subsidies

Although arguments against subsidies have been put forward for a long time and at a high political level, it often fails because of implementation. In 2019, for example, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommended in its Going for Growth report that governments make greater use of ecological taxes, reduce agricultural subsidies and remove tax breaks that harm the environment. The UN Secretary General António Guterres has also spoken out against subsidies for fossil fuels.

The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) proves that long-term benefits of reducing subsidies are regularly recognized, but that short-term arguments prevail. The FES therefore refers to the example of the Netherlands , where arguments against the dismantling of subsidies could be invalidated by developing long-term policy goals, and the example of New Zealand , where resistance could be reduced by integrating the dismantling of subsidies into a long-term overall strategy.

However, critics are of the opinion that a cost-benefit analysis turns out negative and that the political goals are not or no longer achieved. The subsidies would be granted for rent-seeking through lobbying , among other things .

The question of environmental pollution

Tax exemptions for air traffic, company car taxation, the flat-rate travel allowance and hard coal subsidies are examples in which environmental goals, opportunities for modernization and budget relief play a role. In the meantime, the misdirection in favoring diesel fuel, which was originally designed with road freight transport in mind, but also applies to passenger cars, has become particularly evident.

In Germany there are various funding programs for converting to gas heating . In Denmark , the installation of oil heating in new buildings is prohibited and also not allowed in existing buildings, provided that district heating is available. At the beginning of 2017, on the occasion of the publication of the UBA report, there was a discussion about the VAT reduction of 5.2 billion euros for meat and sausage products. Subsidies for the meat industry are also criticized in Switzerland .

In order to improve the situation in rivers , WWF Austria calls for the prevention of water and species-damaging subsidies in connection with green electricity, agriculture and forestry subsidies, etc.

Criticism of the subsidy reporting

The publication of the list of climate-damaging subsidies by the ministry would have been due in June 2019, according to Greenpeace Austria in a broadcast on July 1, 2019. The director and press spokeswoman of the environmental organization strongly criticized not only the delay in publication, but also the climate policy of the Austrian federal government.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ OECD (Ed.): Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: Policy Issues and Challenges . September 2003. doi : 10.1787 / 9789264104495-en .
  2. ↑ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 8f.
  3. ^ Gareth Porter: Subsidies and the environment . In: OECD (Ed.): Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: Policy Issues and Challenges . September 2003, pp. 31-99, doi : 10.1787 / 9789264104495-en .
  4. ↑ a b c d David Pearce: Environmentally harmful subsidies: barriers to sustainable development : In: OECD (Hrsg.): Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: Policy Issues and Challenges . September 2003, pp. 9-30, doi : 10.1787 / 9789264104495-en .
  5. ^ Jean-Philippe Barde, Outi Honkatukia: Environmentally harmful subsidies . In: Thomas H. Tietenberg, Henk Folmer: The International Yearbook of Environmental and Resource Economics 2004/2005 . Edward Elgar, 2005, ISBN 9781845420680 , pp. 254ff.
  6. ↑ a b Institute for European Environmental Policy u. a .: Reforming environmentally harmful subsidies: Final report to the European Commission's DG Environment . March 2007.
  7. ^ Jan Pieters: When removing subsidies benefits the environment: developing a checklist based on the conditionality of subsidies . In: OECD (Ed.): Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: Policy Issues and Challenges . September 2003, pp. 143-188, especially p. 143, doi : 10.1787 / 9789264104495-en .
  8. ↑ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 10
  9. ↑ G20: Coal power plant subsidies more than doubled - derStandard.at. In: DerStandard.at. June 26, 2019, accessed on November 22, 2019 (Austrian German).
  10. ↑ The subsidy policy guidelines (decision of the Federal Cabinet of January 28, 2015) write in indent 5 “The subsidy policy of the federal government is based on growth, distribution, competition and environmental effects. The federal government's subsidy report shows whether the subsidies are sustainable. "; 26th Subsidy Report of the Federal Government, p. 14.
  11. ↑ 26th Subsidy Report of the Federal Government , p. 62 ff.
  12. ^ A b Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany. Updated edition 2016 ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Federal Environment Agency. Retrieved January 6, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.umweltbundesamt.de
  13. ^ State funds climate killers with 52 billion euros , by Martin Greive, Die Welt, December 15, 2014
  14. ↑ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 62f.
  15. ↑ Christian Frahm, Emil Nefzger: Mobility Atlas 2019: This is how much driving a car costs - even people who do not drive . In: Spiegel Online . November 5, 2019 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 5, 2019]).
  16. ^ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 66
  17. ^ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 60
  18. ↑ Climate killers are subsidized by the state , by Silke Kersting, Handelsblatt, December 18, 2014
  19. ↑ UBA study: Environmentally harmful subsidies rise to 52 billion euros , International Economic Forum for Renewable Energies (IWR), December 17, 2014
  20. ^ Kurier (Vienna): Instead of wood chips, petroleum burns , September 4, 2019.
  21. ↑ a b c Ways to dismantle environmentally harmful subsidies , by Holger Bär, Klaus Jacob, Eike Meyer and Kai Schlegelmilch, Ed .: Economic and Social Policy Department of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, October 2011, p. 46
  22. ^ Going for Growth
  23. ^ Press - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In: www.oecd.org. July 12, 2019, accessed October 5, 2019 .
  24. ^ Asean summit: UN Secretary General for more climate protection. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. November 3, 2019, accessed November 5, 2019 .
  25. ↑ Ways to dismantle environmentally harmful subsidies , by Holger Bär, Klaus Jacob, Eike Meyer and Kai Schlegelmilch, eds .: Economic and Social Policy Department of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, October 2011, p. 47
  26. ↑ Environmentally harmful subsidies in Germany , by Lea Köder, Andreas Burger, Frauke Eckermann, Ed .: Umweltbundesamt (UBA), October 2014, p. 68
  27. ↑ https://www.co2online.de/foerdermittel/liste/umstellung_erdgas
  28. ↑ Despite climate targets, Germany is promoting new oil heating systems , energiezukunft.eu, April 2, 2016
  29. ↑ Subsidies: UBA dares to dispute over meat , klimaretter.info, January 5, 2017.
  30. ↑ Jan Flückiger: Everything else is a supplement. In: nzz.ch . June 6, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Mark Baer: No more subsidies for pork advertising? In: observer.ch . July 4, 2019, accessed November 9, 2019 .
  32. ↑ WWF Austria: Why animals are up to their necks . Status and stress factors of selected animal species in Austria. October 2019 ( wwf.at [PDF; 1.3 MB ; accessed on December 9, 2019]).
  33. ↑ Austria Press Agency (OTS): Greenpeace: Austria defaults on climate-damaging subsidies , July 1, 2019.