Energy Subsidies in Other Countries

A new study has examined the tax incentives and subsidies that will be required to meet U.S. biofuels mandates. The results show that subsidies of nearly US$ 2.50 per gallon to biodiesel and US$ 1.86 per gallon to cellulosic ethanol will be required to stimulate production that meets the mandates. The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates the use of 36 billon gallons of biofuels by 2022.

A British non-profit organization has made a series of broad recommendations for how the EU budget could be better directed towards addressing climate change. Investing in our future: a European budget for climate security, published by Green Alliance, calls on Europe to take the lead in shaping the response to climate change, and to take a closer look at the linkages between environmental and economic policy.

The European Commission's recommendations for reforming the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) - the so-called "Health Check" -have come under criticism from European governments and environmental campaigners, albeit for different reasons. On 20 November the EC unveiled proposals for the next phase of changes to European agricultural policy.

Farmsubsidy.org recently published the first issue of its quarterly newsletter focused on farm subsidies under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Austria's conservative Austrian People's Party (AVO) has agreed to a compromise on subsidies to renewable forms of energy which would increase those subsidies from 17 to 21 million Euros a year, according to the Austrian daily Die Presse. The subsidies are being touted as necessary for the country to meet its target of 10% power consumption through renewables by the year 2010.

Direct payments were introduced during the CAP reform of 1992, allowing a transition from the earlier production-oriented CAP toward policies intended to promote rural restructuring and the positive externalities that can result from farm-related activities. Direct payments introduced in 1992, as farm income support instruments, were subsidies per hectare of crops or per head of animal.

The United States Government Accountability Office (GOA) has found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is paying millions of dollars in farms subsidies to thousands of deceased individuals. The GOA report, issued in July, states that the USDA is not effectively reviewing farm subsidy recipients to ensure that they are eligible for payments.