The federal government just gave the fossil fuel industry at least $50 million dollars of taxpayer money, which probably won’t have to be paid back. Of this, $28 million is going to coal mining companies, with $22 million being paid out to oil and gas related firms. This money is coming from aid meant to go to small businesses during the coronavirus crisis.
The Trump administration is furthermore considering a broader bailout for oil and gas corporations, which were already under pressure before the crisis and have become even more precarious with collapsing oil prices.
U.S. taxpayer money has been subsidizing the fossil fuel industry with at least $20 billion a year, and throwing more money at this sector is just adding insult to injury. The oil and gas companies are driving global warming, a crisis that remains in the background regardless of the pandemic. We need a monumental, centralized effort away from fossil fuels, and this added support does just the opposite.
Featured image credit: WClarke / Wikimedia Commons
