Last year, the United States was one of 200 countries to sign an accord at the United Nations COP28 climate summit to eliminate subsidies
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Why fossil fuel subsidies seem impossible to kill
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Monday, March 18, 2024
Oil and gas infrastructure in California. Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
Last year, the United States was one of 200 countries to si ([link removed]) gn an accord ([link removed]) at the United Nations COP28 climate summit to eliminate subsidies for coal, oil, and gas. Yet for the fourth year in a row ([link removed]) , Congress will likely reject President Joe Biden's proposal ([link removed]) to eliminate federal tax breaks for coal and oil and gas companies. The latest request calls for eliminating $35 billion in tax breaks ([link removed]) to the fossil fuel industry over the next ten years. The oil and gas industry receives nearly a dozen tax breaks, including incentives for domestic production and write-offs tied
to foreign production. The Fossil Fuel Subsidy Tracker, run by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, calculates that the industry received around $14 billion ([link removed]) in subsidies in 2022.
One of these tax breaks, known as “intangible drilling costs,” has been in place for over a century, and allows companies to write off up to 80 percent of the costs of drilling, employee wages, and survey work in the first year of operation. The oil and gas industry is expected ([link removed]) to get $1.7 billion in 2025 from the intangible drilling tax break, and $9.7 billion over the next 10 years. Another tax break known as the “depletion allowance” is estimated to give $880 million in benefits in 2025, and $15.6 billion by 2034.
“Everybody agrees fossil fuel subsidies are wasteful, stupid, and moving things in the wrong direction,” said Michael L. Ross ([link removed]) , a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Getting rid of them seems to be one of the hardest things to achieve on the climate agenda.”
Like President Biden, President Barack Obama attempted and failed to eliminate these tax breaks in nearly every budget cycle. Pro-industry lawmakers from both parties have stymied these efforts every year.
** Quick hits
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Colorado River states remain divided on sharing water, and some Tribes say their needs are still being ignored
CPR News ([link removed])
Why fossil fuels subsidies seem impossible to kill
New York Times ([link removed])
House Republicans release details for ‘energy week’
E&E News ([link removed])
Opinion: Time for civil discourse on the Dolores Canyons National Monument
Montrose Press ([link removed])
New Department of Interior opinion promises to recognize expanded Tribal jurisdiction in Alaska
Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])
Company behind controversial Pebble Mine project sues over EPA rejection
The Hill ([link removed])
Opinion: Feds must deliver on Bahsahwahbee National Monument
Las Vegas Sun ([link removed])
Navajo opposition spells likely end of Arizona hydro energy project
E&E News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” In my conversations with community members, there are two general responses I get to the proposal to designate a national monument for the Dolores River Canyon Country. One is a pessimistic, fear-based response that disregards facts. The other, vastly more common response is agreement that the Dolores is a truly special place and curiosity about whether a national monument might be the right tool for stewarding this landscape.”
—Scott Braden, director of the Colorado Wildlands Project, Montrose Press ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@usinterior ([link removed])
Good things come in small packages!
As the smallest fox in North America, desert kit foxes spend most of their days in dens scattered around semi-desert shrublands, which are important for raising young pups and avoiding predators.
They seldom need to drink, getting all their water from the food they eat and by having a digestive tract that is super-efficient at absorbing every drop.
Photos at the Simpson Springs Pony Express Station by Brian Clopp
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