The call proposes that signatory countries publish their fossil fuel subsidies before the next COP29, scheduled for November 2024. In Belgium, this inventory is already being carried out by the federal government, says the office of the Federal Minister of Climate, Zakia Khattabi (Ecolo).
The amount of “subsidies” for fossil fuels in Belgium in 2020 was estimated at almost 13 billion euros, of which almost 11 billion euros in direct subsidies (mainly in the form of tax exemptions or reduced excise duties or VAT) and around two billion euros in indirect subsidies (mainly through the tax system for company cars and the VAT exemption on airline tickets).
MR Deputy Prime Minister David Clarinval said in a message on X that he is against the federal government putting an end to policies supporting fossil fuels. He pointed out that “stopping this support would mean ending the social rate for hundreds of thousands of Belgians and abolishing company cars (including electric ones).”
Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Green) disputes that ending fossil subsidies will lead to the end of the social rate. “Minister Clarinval is misleading Belgian families: the social rate is financial support to help the most disadvantaged families pay their energy bills, regardless of the source of the energy,” she says.
According to Van der Straeten, an “efficient policy” must be put in place to help Belgian families in the energy transition. For her, renewable energy is “the only energy that helps us fight the climate crisis and reduce energy bills at the same time.”