Canada’s $34 billion per year in direct fossil fuel subsidies and “uncollected tax on externalized costs” are a drain on the economy and bleed scarce dollars away from other investments, from green infrastructure to education and public broadcasting, according to The Tyee’s analysis of an International Monetary Fund report.
“The lion’s share of the $34 billion are uncollected taxes on the externalized costs of burning transportation fuels like gasoline and diesel—about $19.4 billion in 2011,” Anderson explains. “These externalized costs include impacts like traffic accidents, carbon emissions, air pollution, and road congestion.”
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The Tyee found the Canadian figures in a 2013 IMF report that calculated global fossil fuel subsidies at nearly $2 trillion per year. “In comparison to other countries, Canada provides more subsidies to petroleum as a proportion of government revenue than any developed nation on earth besides the United States and Luxembourg,” Anderson writes. “Natural gas consumption also enjoys billions in subsidies in Canada.”
