12.12.2019 | Event & Actions

Climate litigation continues to expand across world jurisdictions. This event taking place in Madrid during the COP 25 will gather different campaigners and plaintiffs who are involved in different legal actions to seek climate justice.

12 December at 4 pm - The Social Summit for Climate / Complutense University of Madrid

26.11.2019 | Event & Actions

Climate action and clean energy transition are closely linked with social justice. Communities depending on coal investments understand best the need for a just transition from coal to the low carbon economy. CAN Europe believes that Just Transition should be a priority of governments to support local communities in building decentralised, community-based renewable energy systems and to secure a just transition for people in coal dependent regions.

In CAN Europe’s side event “Just transition at the grassroots: preparing for the coal phase out”, we will discuss the progress on just transition in 2019.

27.11.2018 | Event & Actions

This December government leaders will gather in Katowice, Poland, for the COP24 climate summit. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries will convene to advance implementation of the Paris Agreement. They are expected to commit to put forward higher 2030 climate targets by 2020, deliver a robust Paris Agreement rulebook and provide predictable and meaningful financial support for developing countries. Click to find out more on CAN Europe's side events.

15.11.2018 | Event & Actions

The Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) will hold the first global Climate Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government on 22 November 2018 convened by the incoming Forum president, the Marshall Islands. In light of the great urgency to act, the Summit will provide a platform for all vulnerable countries to speak out on their efforts to “survive and thrive” in the face of climate change, communicating progress, inspiring action and challenging other nations to do more. The Climate Vulnerable Forum, CARE International and Climate Action Network Europe will organise a specific event focused in Brussels on 22 November, 8 to 9 am, in the European Parliament which will be an official part of the Virtual Climate Summit.

The Virtual Climate Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government on 22nd of November, 2018 will be held ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference at Katowice, Poland (COP24), to allow leaders of all nations to take into account the latest scientific findings and translate them into a sound policy response. The event will be the first ever online global political Summit, avoiding emissions, increasing inclusivity and the impact of its outcomes. It will release an ‘outcome document’ on behalf of participating leaders delivering individual statements (pre-recorded videos or written) to be aired on the online Summit platform.

The event that will be organised by the CVF, CARE International and Climate Action Network Europe in Brussels on 22 November, 8 to 9 am, in the European Parliament is an official part of the Virtual Climate Summit.

The Brussels event will be co- hosted by:
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary H.E Mr Deo SARAN, Fiji
MEP Florent Marcellesi, Green, Spain, member of FEMM committee and sub on DEVE
MEP Sirpa Pietikainen, EPP, former Finnish Environment Minister and sub on Envi
MEP Linda McAvan, Chair of the European Parliament’s International Development Committee

CVF event Brussels 22NOV programme page 001

06.11.2017 | Event & Actions

Reducing emissions drastically in the near term, before 2020, is a precondition for countries to be able to meet the long term goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

In this side event Climate Action Network Europe discusses the most important means countries can take to reduce their emissions immediately, and elaborate on why more speedy and effective action will minimise the damage to our societies imposed by climate change.

COP23 Event Poster small

pdf CAN Europe COP23 side event agenda (32 KB)

12.01.2017 | Event & Actions

No fossil fuels in the next EU budget!

The EU Toxic Funding Awards are here to show you what politicians are doing with your taxes. Are they still helping the fossil fuel industry to wreck the climate? Or are they investing in clean renewables and energy efficiency to build a safer fossil free society for us all?

According to the European Commission, the next EU budget will be a budget for the future that delivers on issues that matter for Europeans. But wait, shouldn’t that mean a budget that finances the solutions, not the causes of climate change? Yet current legislative proposals would permit and even encourage funding for fossil fuels, in particular gas, over most of the next decade.

What's the most toxic? The public has decided! Four of the worst examples of toxic funding proposed to be part of the next EU budget were ranked by a public vote in November.

Climate change, the role of financing
Awards winners

Climate change, the role of financing

Many in the EU consider gas to be one of the ‘solutions’ to the climate crisis and plan huge investments in gas infrastructure. But we disagree. Fossil gas is a false solution to dangerous climate change: fossil gas is a fuel with substantial CO2 and methane emissions, contributing to the climate problem and its catastrophic impacts.

In 2014-16 the EU provided up to €4bn in support to fossil fuels, most of which went to gas infrastructure. And the subsidies might keep coming.

The EU has committed multiple times to the phase out of fossil fuel subsidies.

Will the EU budget follow suit?

The European Commission has proposed to continue to subsidise more fossil fuels well into the next decade through the next long-term EU budget (Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027). And attempts by the European Commission to exclude fossil fuels from some EU funds are challenged by some Member States and by some EU Parliamentarians.

The plans and legislations are not final yet since the budget files are still under negotiations: now it’s time for the European Parliament and the EU governments to make the next EU budget fully climate-friendly and 100% free from fossil fuels!

12.01.2017 | Event & Actions

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Subsidising fossil fuels stands in the way of climate action across Europe while threatening our health, environment and economies.
Expose the financial support for dirty energy in your country by voting for the worst fossil fuel subsidies during the first ever European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards!

By voting for the worst subsidies, you contribute to exposing the hypocrisy of European governments and other public institutions’ promises to tackle climate change while at the same time funding fossil fuels.

Intro

Introduction

European countries have all agreed to scale up their efforts to tackle climate change. Still, governments and other public institutions all over Europe are spending billions of euro on funding what is causing climate change: the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. By providing subsidies - (your!) tax money - to fossil fuels, governments end up taking one step forward and two steps back when it comes to climate action.

Fossil Fuel subsidies make no sense

Subsidising fossil fuels makes no sense. It stands in the way of increasing support for climate action across Europe, causes enormous harm to the environment and contributes to disease and premature deaths. It also drains public money away from important public services such as clean energy, education and health care. Still, governments and other public institutions are stubbornly doling out these subsidies to dirty industry, refusing to put an end to them.

All their efforts to provide the dirtiest, deadliest and most hypocritical support to fossil fuels deserve some well earned public recognition so that we can increase the pressure to phase them out.

Fossil fuel subsidies?

What are fossil fuel subsidies?

It seems like our governments find it hard to agree on what fossil fuel subsidies actually are. But we - the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards Jury - think that the more time you spend trying to get the correct definition, the less time you have for fixing the problem of fossil fuel subsidies.

What constitutes a subsidy?

Similar to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), we argue that any form of government action or public intervention which lowers the cost of fossil fuel energy production or consumption can be defined as a subsidy. This includes for example direct funding (e.g. for coal mines’ operations) and tax exemptions (e.g. on diesel fuel), preferential loans and guarantees from public banks, and giving favourable access to resources, infrastructure and land. In addition, environmental degradation, air pollution and health costs stemming from extracting and burning fossil fuels is not carried by the industry but paid by society. Therefore, these ‘external costs’ are also considered as fossil fuel subsidies.

CAN Europe Fossil Fuel Subsidies Categories Petrol

Still confusing?

Easily put, every public financial support that keeps fossil fuels burning can be considered a fossil fuel subsidy. Does any European government or other public institution that you know of provide any of the above? Sure they do. Time to vote that subsidy for an Award!

Learn more about fossil fuel subsidies

OECD (2015) - Companion to the Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels 2015 and accompanying country-specific database
IMF (2015) - How Large Are Global Energy Subsidies? and accompanying country-specific database
Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Approaches and Valuation, Koplow and Kojima, Earth Track/World Bank, 2015
Oil Change International and Overseas Development Institute (2015) - Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production
Oil Change International - Shift the Subsidies: Tracking the flow of public money to the fossil fuel industry
CAN Europe (2016) - Connecting the dots - The EU's funding for fossil fuels

More information regarding fossil fuel subsidies in Europe can be found in the Data on fossil fuel subsidies and NGO reports and publications on FFS sections of CAN Europe's website.

About us

The European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards is organised by Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe in collaboration with WWF European Policy Office, Green Budget Europe, Friends of the Earth Europe, CounterBalance, Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), CEE Bankwatch, Overseas Development Institute and Oil Change International. These organisations - which are all as stubborn in fighting fossil fuel subsidies as governments are in handing them out - are part of the Awards Jury.

The role of the jury is to select a shortlist of nominated subsidies which will then be put to a public vote. When shortlisting nominated subsidies, the jury aim to show the broad diversity of subsidies in a broad diversity of countries, while giving considerations to communication opportunities and the possible impacts of the abolishment of the subsidies on the people and the planet. Who wins the actual awards is up to YOU!

The awards jury members:

	CAN Europe Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe's largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 130 member organisations in more than 30 European countries - representing over 44 million citizens - CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe. WWF European Policy Office At WWF, we envision a world in which people and nature thrive – but we’ll only get there if we all play a role and we work together. The European Policy Office helps shape EU policies that impact on the European and global environment.
	CEE Bankwatch Network CEE Bankwatch Network is the largest network of grassroots, environmental groups in central and eastern Europe. We monitor the activities of banks and funds that are often obscure but always important entities that function outside the realm of public scrutiny. We prevent dubious public investments that harm the planet and people’s well-being.
	Counter Balance Challenging public investment banks is a European coalition of development and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) with extensive experience working on development finance and the international financial institutions (IFIs) as well as campaigning to prevent negative impacts resulting from major infrastructure projects.
	Friends of the Earth Europe Friends of the Earth Europe is the largest grassroots environmental network in Europe, uniting more than 30 national organisations and thousands of local groups. We campaign for sustainable and just societies and for the protection of the environment.
	Green Budget Europe(GBE) is a Brussels-based non-profit expert platform on Environmental Fiscal Reform (EFR), Our aim is to promote a transformation of Europe’s budgets and tax systems to ensure that Europe in the 21st century is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
	Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) is a leading European not-for-profit organisation addressing how the environment affects health in the European Union (EU). We demonstrate how policy changes can help protect health and enhance people’s quality of life.
	Oil Change International Oil Change International is a research, communication, and advocacy organization focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the coming transition towards clean energy. We focus on the fossil fuel industry because we view the production and consumption of oil, gas and coal as sources of global warming, human rights abuses, war, national security concerns, corporate globalization, and increased inequality. We also see fossil fuel industry’s interests behind every major barrier to a clean energy transition.
	Overseas Development Institute The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the UK's leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues. Our mission is to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries.
	WWF European Policy Office At WWF, we envision a world in which people and nature thrive – but we’ll only get there if we all play a role and we work together. The European Policy Office helps shape EU policies that impact on the European and global environment.

About the Awards

About the Awards

The concept of the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards is simple. All forms of fossil fuel subsidies (in Europe) are inefficient, harmful to our health and the environment and they block the transition to clean energy systems. But some obviously more than others, and the worst offenders deserve some well earned public recognition so that we can increase the pressure to phase them out.

Help us expose the hypocrisy

Most governments don’t like to talk about the fact that they are giving money to fossil fuels, and in some cases they do what they can to hide them. It is simply unfair to European citizens to keep these subsidies in the dark, hiding them behind nice words of climate action. By voting for subsidies, you contribute to exposing the hypocrisy of European governments and other public institutions' promises to tackle climate change while at the same time funding fossil fuels.

What happens when?

Since governments and other public institutions spend your tax money on destroying your climate, your local environment and your health, you should be the one deciding who the winners will be.

Get ready - here is how it goes: Between February 1st and 28th you can nominate any subsidy that you know a government or another public institution in Europe is giving out (remember to have a look at what is considered a fossil fuel subsidy in the 'What are fossil fuel subsidies' section) by using the nomination form here on the website. After the nomination period has closed, the Awards Jury will then select a shortlist of nominated subsidies that will be put to a public vote. The Jury will present the shortlisted nominations at the end of March. Between April 10th and May 8th the public (including you!) can vote to decide the winners.

The award winners will be presented at a public awards ceremony in Brussels end of May 2017. You don’t want to miss that!

But first - go ahead and vote for the worst subsidies!

And the winners are...

The Awards winners

9 national governments and the EU have won awards. See below which ones.

To get more information on each prize and the subsidy associated, click on the medals (or cick on the candidates tab above)

DEADLY FUNDING

AWARDS

DIRTY TAX GIFT

AWARDS

SNEAKY SPECIAL TREATMENT

AWARDS

Poland

Norway

Ireland

Romania

Estonia

Turkey

Germany

Hungary

Slovakia

EU JURY SPECIAL PRIZE

The award ceremony

The Awards results have been announced at the Ceremony in Brussels! Check out the video of the Ceremony below and check the CAN Europe facebook page to like and share the video and photos.

European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards 2017 - Ceremony
The winners of the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards have just been revealed at our Awards Ceremony this morning in Brussels! Check out the video and share it! #FossilFuelSubsidiesAwards
Posted by Climate Action Network Europe (CAN Europe) on Monday, 22 May 2017

12.01.2017 | Event & Actions

The 2018 European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards!

The European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards expose financial support for dirty energy in countries across Europe. Subsidising fossil fuels threatens our health and economies, pollutes our air, and undermines action on climate change. Governments may be talking up their action on climate change, but they’re pouring billions into dirty energy.

The public vote has now closed. Stay tuned for the announcement of the winners on April 16!

Vote

Dirtiest, most hypocritical or deadliest? Read more about the candidates (voting has closed - winners will be announced on April 16)!

What are fossil fuel subsidies

What are fossil fuel subsidies?

Fossil fuel subsidies are forms of public resources or financial support used to extract and burn fossil fuels. Although European countries have all agreed to scale up their efforts to tackle climate change, governments and other public institutions are still providing billions of taxpayers money to the fossil fuel industry, with the result that we all end up taking one step forward and two steps back on climate action.

What constitutes a subsidy?

CAN Europe, similar to the World Trade Organization, considers any form of government action or public intervention which lowers the cost of fossil fuel energy production or consumption a subsidy. Governments and public institutions across Europe are taking all sorts of action in favour of fossil fuels. This means fossil fuel industries don’t pay a fair price. It includes for example direct funding (e.g. for coal mines’ operations) and tax exemptions (e.g. on diesel fuel), preferential loans and guarantees from public banks, and favourable access to resources, infrastructure and land.

In a recent report, CAN Europe and partners found that 11 European countries and the EU are handing out more than €112 billion in subsidies each year.

In addition, environmental degradation, air pollution and health costs stemming from extracting and burning fossil fuels are paid not by the industry, but by society. CAN Europe agrees with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that these ‘external costs’ are also considered as fossil fuel subsidies.

You can find out more by following the links to reports, briefings and our website pages below:

Learn more about fossil fuel subsidies

Briefing: Europe in motion - Ending all public financial support for fossil fuels (October 2017)
Report - Phase-out 2020: Monitoring Europe’s fossil fuel subsidies (September 2017)
Report: EU Research Policies for Peace, People and Planet (July 2017)
Briefing: Connecting the dots - The EU's funding for fossil fuels (August 2016)
OECD (2015) Companion to the Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels 2015 and accompanying country-specific database
IMF (2015) - How Large Are Global Energy Subsidies? and accompanying country-specific database
Oil Change International and Overseas Development Institute (2015) - Empty promises: G20 subsidies to oil, gas and coal production

More information regarding fossil fuel subsidies in Europe can be found in the Data on fossil fuel subsidies and NGO reports and publications on FFS sections of CAN Europe's website.

#FossilFuelSubsidiesAwards

FossilFuelSubsidiesAwards

The concept of the European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards is simple. All forms of fossil fuel subsidies (in Europe) are inefficient, harmful to our health and the environment, pollute our air, and block the transition to clean energy systems. The worst offenders deserve some well-earned public recognition, which should help to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies.

Most governments don’t like to talk about the fact that they are giving money to fossil fuels, and in some cases they do what they can to hide them. Governments may be talking up their action on climate change, but they’re still pouring billions into dirty energy.

Eight candidates have been shortlisted to compete for the podium of Europe’s worst Fossil Fuel Subsidy. The shortlist going to the public vote aims to show the broad diversity of subsidies in a broad diversity of countries, while giving considerations to communication opportunities and the possible impacts of the abolishment of the subsidies on the people and the planet.

Since it is YOUR tax money being spent on destroying your climate, your environment and your health, you should be the one deciding who the winners will be.

We want your vote

It’s time to cast your vote! The public vote is open between 19 - 30 March.

The winners will be announced mid-April… look out for the news in nominated countries and share the prize winners across social media!

The European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards are organised by CAN Europe. Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe is Europe's largest coalition working on climate and energy issues. With over 140 member organisations in more than 30 European countries - representing over 44 million citizens - CAN Europe works to prevent dangerous climate change and promote sustainable climate and energy policy in Europe.

12.01.2017 | Event & Actions

Oil and gas companies in Norway receive billions in subsidies

The Norwegian government rewards investors for putting their money into oil and gas infrastructure, thereby increasing supplies from Norway to the rest of the world. These subsidies represent a threat to the climate, and to vulnerable ecosystems in the surrounding seas

Norway 1200x822px

More details

To successfully combat climate change, both supply and demand of fossil fuels have to be dealt with. Norway supplies Europe with huge amounts of oil and gas every day, ensuring easy access to the climate-harming fuels. And government subsidies have allowed Norway to become a large supplier of oil and gas. Here’s an example to illustrate how it works: If an oil company invests NOK 100 billion (roughly €11 billion) in a new oil production field in Norway, the government will pay approximately NOK 89 billion out of the 100, leaving the oil company to pay only NOK 11 billion. You might expect that the Norwegian government then collects 89% of eventual profits. But this is not the case.

If the oil company in the example turns a profit before tax at NOK 100 billion, they get to keep not NOK 11 billion, but NOK 22 billion! This leaves the government, who paid 89 billion initially, with only 78 billion. The discrepancy for oil companies between risk and return makes investments in oil and gas projects incredibly attractive, and drives investment in the supply of these climate-wrecking fuels.

The Norwegian Ministry of Finance has estimated the size of this subsidy since 2013. In the period 2013 – 2017, oil and gas companies have been subsidized with more than NOK 85 billion (more than €8.7 billion) according to the ministry. This is money that should have been spent on ensuring a clean and just transition away from fossil fuels, not on making the climate challenge even harder to meet.

Norway is supporting several important climate initiatives, like REDD+, which objective is to avoid deforestation. But, as it is helping the climate with one hand, it is destroying it with the other. The hypocrisy of these well hidden subsidies reveals the true face of Norway, which is not as climate friendly as you might have thought.

< Back to voting form

12.01.2017 | Event & Actions

Gold prize winner!

License to drill: oil threatens nature and tourist hotpot

Last year in major disregard to climate targets, the Portuguese government handed out a license to Galp/ENI companies for deep offshore drilling in Alentejo, a beautiful biodiversity protected area and a tourism hotspot.

Portugal 1200x459

More details

In January 2017, the Portuguese directorate general for maritime resources granted a license to use the offshore maritime space (a TUPEM permit) to the oil companies Galp/ENI in the deep offshore of Alentejo, off the beautiful Portuguese southern coast.

This permit grants right to private use of the offshore area - a form of special treatment and an indirect subsidy. It could serve positive objectives, assessing wind and tidal renewable energy for example. In a country known for its leading role in renewables and which is preparing a national plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, it is outrageous that fossil fuels are benefitting from this special treatment. Prospection for oil and gas is not compatible with a decarbonization pathway.

Moreover the Alentejo coastline is a biodiversity protected area and a tourism hotspot. The region is characterized by 35 natural habitats, many of which are unique. The site has a high number of priority plant species. The coastal cliffs, beaches, dunes, moorlands and wetlands coastal plateau and mountain ravines support diverse flora. Algarve and Alentejo regions are known for nature tourism activities, such as cycling, trekking, surfing or bird watching. Fishing is also important for local communities. But there have been no economic, environmental impact studies, or cost-benefit analysis for this oil drilling permit.

NGOs (including ZERO) are objecting to the license for deep offshore drilling in Alentejo, and have launched online petitions (one reached 42.000 signatures and was discussed in the National Parliament), minute letters, marches, social networks, legal actions and crowdfunding. Municipalities and regional authorities launched legal actions to stop the concession. Scientists have also signed an open letter against the project because of its climate impacts.

As a result in February 2018 the National Parliament approved a resolution calling on the government to suspend the fossil fuel prospection and studies on the coast of Aljezur, in Alentejo. At the beginning of March, deep offshore prospection and preparatory studies in Alentejo were suspended by a national court for three months.

But this does not mean the fight against fossil fuel exploration is over.

NGOs are now calling for the cancellation of all concessions to explore fossil fuels in Portugal, and the revision of the national legislation to stop new concessions.

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Contact Network Team

Tom

Tom Boyle
Fundraising and Network Outreach Coordinator
tom/at/ caneurope.org
+32 2894 4676

MATHIAS

Mathias Claeys Bouuaert
Network Outreach Officer
mathias /at/ caneurope.org
+32 2893 0827

Latest Publications

CAN Europe contribution to the Public Consultation for the Revision of the Guidelines on State aid for Environmental protection and Energy 2014-2020 (EEAG)

This document sets out our contribution to the Public Consultation for the Revision of the Guidelines on State aid for Environmental protection and Energy 2014-2020 (EEAG).

08.01.2021 | Submissions to Consultations
CAN Europe submissions to consultations on the Ten Year Network Development Plan 2020

CAN Europe submitted its feedback to the public consultation of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and Gas (ENTSOG) on their Ten Year Network Development Plans (TYNDP) 2020 for electricity and for gas.

21.12.2020 | Submissions to Consultations
CAN Europe submission to consultation on EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy

This document sets out our feedback to the European Commission’s draft Delegated Act on the EU Sustainable Taxonomy, for economic activities having a substantial contribution to climate mitigation and climate adaptation while doing no significant harm (DNSH) to climate and environmental objectives.

18.12.2020 | Submissions to Consultations
CAN Europe submission to consultation on the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2022 Storylines

With this submission, CAN Europe responds to the consultation on the storylines for the Ten Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP) 2022.

17.12.2020 | Submissions to Consultations

See All: Climate & Energy Targets

Events & Actions

No fossil fuels in the next EU budget!

Climate change, the role of financing

And the winners are...

The Awards winners

The award ceremony

The 2018 European Fossil Fuel Subsidies Awards!

Vote

Oil and gas companies in Norway receive billions in subsidies

More details

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Gold prize winner!

License to drill: oil threatens nature and tourist hotpot

More details

Submitted by

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Contact Network Team

Latest Publications