Australia’s government gives more support to fossil fuel research than is apparent

<https://theconversation.com/australias-government-gives-more-support-to-fossil-fuel-research-than-is-apparent-161421>

"Australian governments direct billions to fossil fuel companies. Among the
projects funded by Commonwealth and state governments are work on coal ports,
railways and power stations, and research into “clean coal” or “coal
innovation”.

Whether worthwhile or not, this funding is visible and can be debated on its
merits, as The Australia Institute has done in a study characterising total
government support for fossil fuel industries as hitting A$10.3 billion in
2020-21.

But there’s more that’s invisible. Research I have just published in the
journal Environmental Research Letters using new administrative data from tax
offices finds Australia has spent more subsidising fossil fuel research
indirectly via research and development tax credits than directly via grants.

Between 2012 and 2018 fossil fuel extraction companies received A$1.4 billion
in research and development tax credits from the Australian government."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics