It is expected that the US and China, being the world’s 2 largest economies and the worst carbon polluters, will conduct a review of each other’s fossil fuel subsidies at the G20 Summit held in Hangzhou this weekend.

If this does take place, it will be the first time that China has granted a foreign country to analyse its national energy subsidies.

While the real impact of the review may not be very large, it does indicate that China may be open to allowing the US to influence its national energy subsidies – signalling that China may be taking climate change seriously.

China and the US are both major fossil fuel consumers, severely subsidising dirty energy which only damages air pollution and the world’s climate change.

All G20 countries have subsidised their fossil fuel industries even though they made a pledge at a 2009 Summit to phase-out such subsidies.

In 2013, finance ministers were told to develop a voluntary peer-review process in an effort to speed up fossil fuel reform however in the 3 years since, the G20 has not be successful in introducing any real or concrete measures to turn political commitment into action.

A study which was published by the International Monetary Fund in 2015 stated that governments around the world provided $5.3 trillion in fossil fuel subsidiaries a year and named China as the biggest culprit by accounting for $2.3 trillion (more than 40%) which is due to its heavy dependence on coal.

The US spends around £699 billion (13%) while the EU is credited with £330 billion (6%).

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