Elements by Visual Capitalist

Charted: $5 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Energy Shift

Charted: $5 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Published

3 years ago

on

January 30, 2022

By

Govind Bhutada

Share

Email

Fossil fuel subsidies

Charted: $5 Trillion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies (2010-2021)

With energy consumption vital for life and business, governments often look to fossil fuel subsidies to make energy as affordable as possible.

These subsidies artificially reduce the price of fossil fuels and generally take two forms:

Production subsidies occur when governments provide tax cuts or direct payments that reduce the cost of producing coal, oil, or gas.
Consumption subsidies cut fuel prices for the end-user through price controls and other such measures.

Each year, governments around the world pour nearly half a trillion dollars into fossil fuel subsidies. This chart breaks down a decade of fossil fuel consumption subsidies by energy source using data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Breaking Down Fossil Fuel Consumption Subsidies

Since 2010, governments have spent over $5 trillion in fossil fuel consumption subsidies. The majority of this sum went towards making oil more affordable, as seen below:

Subsidies by Year (US$)	Oil	Electricity	Natural Gas	Coal	Total
2010	$203.0B	$143.5B	$113.6B	$2.7B	$462.9B
2011	$263.7B	$147.2B	$100.4B	$3.6B	$514.0B
2012	$304.0B	$149.9B	$132.2B	$3.3B	$589.5B
2013	$300.0B	$132.8B	$119.1B	$1.7B	$553.6B
2014	$262.4B	$124.1B	$104.2B	$1.1B	$491.9B
2015	$147.3B	$119.2B	$83.6B	$1.5B	$351.5B
2016	$110.2B	$132.8B	$56.7B	$2.2B	$301.9B
2017	$153.5B	$136.2B	$65.2B	$2.7B	$357.6B
2018	$195.3B	$167.4B	$106.0B	$3.0B	$471.7B
2019	$134.2B	$124.8B	$51.0B	$2.2B	$312.2B
2020	$90.4B	$52.5B	$36.9B	$1.7B	$181.5B
Total	$2,164.0B	$1,430.4B	$968.9B	$25.7B	$4,588.3B

Fossil fuel subsidies fell to a decade low in 2020 as the pandemic hampered fuel consumption and triggered a nosedive in oil prices. However, after two years of straight declines, the IEA estimates that governments around the world spent $440 billion on subsidizing fossil fuel consumption over 2021, representing a 142% rise year-over-year.

Breaking down the subsidies by fuel, oil accounts for 43% or over $2 trillion of all subsidies between 2010 and 2020. Together, oil and electricity generated by fossil fuels received nearly 75% of all subsidies.

Despite growing support for the clean energy transition, the fossil fuel industry reaps the benefits of billions in subsidies annually—but why?

Why Do Governments Subsidize Fossil Fuels?

High energy prices can have rippling effects throughout an economy.

For consumers, heating and transportation become more expensive. And for producers who use energy and oil as inputs, the cost of goods and services goes up.

Often, governments turn to energy subsidies to keep prices down and encourage economic activity. Therefore, there’s a high cost to removing these subsidies, especially in developing countries where large parts of the population might lack access to affordable energy.

But fossil fuel subsidies can also have detrimental effects. By artificially lowering prices, they can encourage overconsumption of carbon-intense fuels, creating negative externalities through adverse environmental and health impacts. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, these add up to an amount anywhere between $2.6 to $8.1 trillion globally.

Despite these disadvantages, fossil fuels remain an important part of the global energy mix, with continued support from governments. And with energy prices soaring, 2022 could be another year of billions in fossil fuel subsidies.

Up Next

Ranked: The Top 10 Countries by Energy Transition Investment

Don't Miss

Visualizing China’s Dominance in Clean Energy Metals

Click for Comments

Energy Shift

Visualizing the Decline of Copper Usage in EVs

Copper content in EVs has steadily decreased over the past decade, even as overall copper demand rises due to the increasing adoption of EVs.

Published

1 week ago

on

September 29, 2024

By

Bruno Venditti

The total copper per vehicle is projected to decrease by 38 kg between 2015 and 2030.

Visualizing the Decline of Copper Usage in EVs

Copper intensity in passenger battery electric vehicles (BEVs) has steadily decreased over the last decade, driven by numerous technological advancements alongside increasing usage of alternative materials such as aluminum.

In this graphic, we visualize the evolution of copper demand in various subcomponents of passenger battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from 2015 to 2030F, along with total global copper demand driven by EVs for the same period. This data comes exclusively from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

Copper Intensity Per Car

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the copper intensity per vehicle is expected to decline by almost 38 kg, from 99 kg in 2015 to 62 kg by 2030.

Year	Wiring	Motor	Copper Foil	Busbar	Auxiliary Motor	Charging Cable	Total
2015	30	8	41.26	13.23	2.87	3.96	99.32
2016	29	8	38.68	13.37	2.85	3.92	95.82
2017	28	7	32.67	12.72	2.84	3.90	87.13
2018	27	7	26.39	11.87	2.82	3.88	78.96
2019	26	7	28.00	10.85	2.78	3.82	78.45
2020	25	7	24.71	10.24	2.73	3.76	73.44
2021	24	6	25.27	9.29	2.69	3.70	70.95
2022	23	7	28.44	8.56	2.65	3.64	73.29
2023	22	7	29.87	8.12	2.61	3.58	73.18
2024F	21	7	27.73	7.67	2.56	3.52	69.48
2025F	20	7	27.79	7.19	2.52	2.51	67.01
2026F	20	7	27.78	6.63	2.48	3.41	67.30
2027F	19	8	27.55	6.15	2.44	3.35	66.49
2028F	18	8	26.77	5.70	2.40	3.30	64.17
2029F	18	8	26.17	5.51	2.39	3.28	63.35
2030F	17	8	25.63	5.44	2.37	3.26	61.70

One of the most significant factors driving this decline is thrifting, where engineers and manufacturers continuously improve the efficiency and performance of various components, leading to reduced copper usage. A key example of this is in battery production, where the thickness of copper foil used in battery anodes has significantly decreased.

In 2015, Benchmark estimated copper foil usage was just over 41 kg per vehicle (at an average thickness of 10 microns), but by 2030, it is projected to fall to 26 kg as manufacturers continue to adopt thinner foils.

Similarly, automotive wiring systems have become more localized, with advances in high-voltage wiring and modular integration allowing for reduced copper content in wiring harnesses.

Copper used in wiring has dropped from 30 kg per vehicle in 2015 to a projected 17 kg by 2030.

Newer, more compact power electronics and improved thermal management in motors and charging cables have also contributed to the reduction in copper usage.

Substitution has also played a role, with alternatives such as aluminum increasingly being used in components like busbars, wiring harnesses, and charging cable applications.

Aluminum’s lighter weight and lower cost have made it a practical alternative to copper in specific applications, though the additional space required to achieve the same level of conductivity can limit its use in certain cases.

Benchmark estimates that copper used in automotive wire harnesses has declined by 30% between 2015 and 2024.

The Road Ahead

Despite reductions in per-vehicle copper usage, the outlook for copper demand from the EV sector remains strong due to the sector’s growth.

Year	EV Sector Copper Demand (tonnes)
2015	56K
2016	82K
2017	111K
2018	166K
2019	179K
2020	237K
2021	447K
2022	696K
2023	902K
2024F	1.0M
2025F	1.2M
2026F	1.5M
2027F	1.7M
2028F	2.0M
2029F	2.2M
2030F	2.5M

Benchmark’s analysis indicates that by 2030, copper demand driven by EVs alone will exceed 2.5 million tonnes, securing copper’s critical role in the transition to a low-carbon future.

Energy Shift

Visualizing the Rise in Global Coal Consumption

China remains the largest coal consumer, making up 56% of the global total.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

September 16, 2024

By

Bruno Venditti

In this graphic, we show global coal consumption by region from 1965 to 2020.

Visualizing the Rise in Global Coal Consumption

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Despite efforts to decarbonize the economy, global coal consumption surpassed 164 exajoules for the first time in 2023. The fossil fuel still accounts for 26% of the world’s total energy consumption.

In this graphic, we show global coal consumption by region from 1965 to 2023, based on data from the Energy Institute.

China Leads in Coal Consumption

China is by far the largest consumer of coal, accounting for 56% of the global total, with 91.94 exajoules in 2023.

It is followed by India, with 21.98 exajoules, and the U.S., with 8.20 exajoules. In 2023, India exceeded the combined consumption of Europe and North America for the first time.

Regionally, North America and Europe have seen a decline in coal consumption since the 1990s, while the Asia-Pacific region experienced a surge in demand during the same period.

Year	Asia Pacific (Exajoules)	North America	Europe	Rest of the World	Total World
2013	114.14	19.48	15.86	11.47	160.95
2014	115.74	19.39	14.88	11.68	161.62
2015	115.00	16.89	14.24	11.11	157.25
2016	113.21	15.55	13.74	11.35	153.85
2017	115.67	15.30	13.29	11.23	155.50
2018	119.05	14.50	12.98	11.34	157.87
2019	121.94	12.49	11.06	11.45	156.95
2020	121.91	9.97	9.57	10.82	152.27
2021	127.75	11.24	10.44	11.12	160.56
2022	129.80	10.54	10.02	11.18	161.53
2023	135.70	8.83	8.39	11.11	164.03