America is making a serious mistake in its energy transition, only comparable to what other emerging countries are doing without realizing it. What has happened? We have just discovered a type of “black energy” that is costing us trillions in public subsidies. The problem is that it has all happened without anyone noticing, and now we have a single solution that is going to cost us even more money. Find out why many experts are talking about the “biggest energy scam in history” and what the consequences will be.
America is shocked by the biggest scam in our history: It could turn worse now that it’s unveiled
The fossil fuel industry has always dominated the United States politics by controlling energy policies and setting popular opinions. Nevertheless, if we delve deeper into the industry’s activities, one can observe discontent and manipulation that can be called the largest con in the United States’ history.
In a report by the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, the US government has been giving over $20 billion or so annually towards subsidies to the fossil fuel industry since 2015. Such subsidies include tax credits, royalty exemptions or any other measure that creates an artificial loss of cost incurred in the extraction as well as in the use of fossil energy.
The report also concluded that the source cost of coal, oil and gas, including the external cost of their utilization on people’s health and the natural environment, is significantly higher than the current prices for gasoline and cooling or heating devices. Subsidies of over $5 trillion per year for fossil fuels have been noted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a cost-factoring method.
$10 Bn annually, and trillions lost in the most “black” energy
The industry of burning fossil fuels is the main driver of climate change, as has been proven by scientific literature, but the industry keeps demanding and producing these products. Big companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron have been at the forefront of funding lobbyists and advertising executives to question the relationship between fossil energies and global warming.
On the same breath, the industry has been vigorously discouraging the innovations in renewable energy technologies that could cut into its revenues. The investigation by the Center for International Environmental Law conducted at the beginning of the current year revealed that large integrated oil companies have been perfectly aware of climate change.
This energy has shocked experts: It’s extremely dangerous, but even better than nuclear?
Texas remains to have the highest number of projects and subsidies coming from fossil fuels in the United States. Currently, there are over 400,000 oil and gas wells and many refineries, pipelines and petrochemical plants in the state. Texas also subsidizes fossil fuels in the amount of billions of dollars in tax exemptions and other subsidies annually.
At the same time, Texas is among the states that will suffer from climate change consequences, such as the rise in sea level, temperature extremes, and storms. A research study done by the University of Texas stated that the state might be plunged into a $103 billion deficit in terms of economic productivity by 2050 due to the impacts of global warming.
What has been called the biggest energy scam in history could go even further, especially now that the legislative elections are approaching, with very different proposals on how to approach the energy transition in our country. Without going into political issues, it is true that experts fear a turnback in the development of hydrogen, geothermal or photovoltaic projects, with a new and feared boost to nuclear or fossil fuels in America.
