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Fossil industry faces a perfect political and technological storm

There is a strong possibility that  world leaders will agree to impose a  tax on carbon emissions that will change the financial calculus for coal, oil, and gas, and may  devalue much of their asset base to zero.The IMF haspublished "How Large Are Global Energy Subsidies"  suggesting that fossil fuels enjoy hidden support worth 6.5pc of world GDP.This amounts to $5.7 trillion in 2015, mostly due to environmental costs and damage to health, and mostly stemming from coal. The WHO has revised up its estimates of early deaths from fine particulates and sulphur dioxide from coal plants. The point is that subsidy is a drag on economic growth as well as being a transfer from poor to rich. It pushes up tax rates and crowds out more productive investment. The world would be richer - and more dynamic - if the burning of fossils was priced properly.

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