Hi IT, shall we have another go at clearing up your confusion?Imploding Turtle wrote:
Ending fossil fuel subsidies (which they don't ******* need because it's the richest industry in history) will make fossil fuels more expensive. Or more accurately it will make them exactly as expensive as the free market says they should be.
Then we better subsidise the production and use of renewable energy solutions with some (or all, i'm fine with all) of the billions of pounds we'll save every year because we no longer need to give these leeches tax breaks and grants.
The only "subsidy" that you can identify for the "fossil fuel" industry is the 5% VAT rate in the UK on residential gas and power.
If you take at taxes on petrol and diesel you will discover that the UK rate is the highest in Europe - and, possibly the highest in the world. And, then the government adds 20% VAT on top.
So, as gas and power consumers we get cheaper home eating, lighting and cooking. None of the "VAT subsidy" goes back to the gas and power companies that sell it to us - it's just that the government collects lower VAT - so, it's not the gas and power companies that are subsidised.
Then, let's take a look at the profitability of the gas and power supply companies. You say that "it's the richest industry in history." Really, where did you get that from? Do you know how many gas and supply companies have gone bust in the UK? - and I'm not talking about the little tiddlers. Check out what happened to the largest suppliers in the early 2000s. Check out the profitability of the "big 6" (are there still a big 6) now.
I assume you are thinking "richest industry in history" because some years - and not every year - the very largest multinational oil and gas companies can report large profits. But, check out the return on a percentage of the investment in those companies. And, check out how many of the large (and not so large) oil and gas companies have gone bust, frequently, over the years.
And, if you are interested, take a look at what BP has to say about climate change - and what they report they are doing about it.
A few facts won't go amiss in this debate.