If the Obama administration wants to get serious about climate change, then it will need to convince Congress that energy subsidies will have to be overhauled. A review of government supports for energy from 2002-2008 revealed most of the tax breaks went towards aiding foreign oil imports—which produce large quantities of greenhouse gases.

The assessment, conducted by the Environmental Law Institute and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, also found the U.S. government spends substantially more to help fossil fuel production than encouraging renewable energy sources. Oil and coal operations received approximately $72 billion in subsidies over a seven-year period, while renewable fuels benefited from only $29 billion.

More than half the subsidies for renewable fuels ($16.8 billion) helped corn-based ethanol production, which may not help reduce global warming as much as its supporters claim, according to the study’s authors.
                                                                                                                                                          -Noel Brinkerhoff

U.S. Tax Breaks Subsidize Foreign Oil Production (Environmental Law Institute)