US tax changes could boost oil production
Tax changes outlined by the US Republican Party last week could undermine climate change targets, according to research by the Stockholm Environment Institute. The study found that, of the 800 newly discovered US oil fields not yet in operation, half would never go into production without existing subsidies. The proposals, which would lower the corporate tax rate to 20%, give no indication that a 2009 G20 commitment to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies will be maintained. Current subsidies would see new wells producing up to 17 billion barrels of oil, generating six gigatons of CO2, within decades.
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