{"id":387402,"date":"2025-07-07T13:35:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=387402"},"modified":"2025-07-07T13:35:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T11:35:56","slug":"dr-matthew-wielicki-torches-the-7-trillion-fossil-fuel-subsidy-myth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=387402","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Matthew Wielicki Torches the $7 Trillion Fossil Fuel Subsidy Myth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Charles Rotter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Matthew Wielicki\u2019s article, \u201cThe $7 Trillion Lie,\u201d<\/a><\/em> is a scathing expos\u00e9 of what may be one of the most brazen accounting tricks in the climate policy playbook. For years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its ideological allies have floated the claim that fossil fuels receive a jaw-dropping $7 trillion per year in global subsidies. But as Wielicki makes abundantly clear, this figure is not just inflated\u2014it\u2019s fabricated, repackaged propaganda masquerading as economic analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIt is one of the most effective talking points in the climate activist arsenal\u2026 and one of the most dishonest,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Wielicki states plainly. And he\u2019s right. This dubious figure is the linchpin for green energy slush funds, carbon taxes, and regulatory overreach worldwide. It\u2019s the rhetorical battering ram used to justify some of the most sweeping\u2014and costly\u2014interventions in modern economic history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To understand the sleight of hand at play, Wielicki unpacks how this $7 trillion myth was born. Only a fraction of that amount\u2014less than one-fifth\u2014is actual government spending. \u201cThe rest? That\u2019s where the con begins. It\u2019s a clever sleight of hand\u2026\u201d he writes. Indeed, the majority of the number is built on \u201cimplicit subsidies\u201d\u2014a bureaucratic fiction concocted by economists to represent hypothetical costs, like the so-called \u201csocial cost of carbon.\u201d These are not checks written to ExxonMobil; they are estimates loaded with assumptions and guesswork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want real numbers, Wielicki points readers to the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Their data shows that actual fossil fuel subsidies\u2014the kind you can trace in a budget\u2014amount to $500 to $700 billion per year, and mostly occur in developing nations like Venezuela, Iran, and Indonesia. In these places, fuel subsidies are a matter of economic stability, not environmental sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, Western nations have been pouring taxpayer money into the black hole of green energy. As Wielicki highlights with stark clarity, \u201csolar received 205 times more [federal subsidies] than oil and gas between 2010 and 2019\u201d on a per-unit-of-electricity basis. The graph on page 5 makes this discrepancy obvious, showing that solar receives $70 per MWh, while oil and gas limp along with $0.39 per MWh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the Inflation Reduction Act alone is responsible for over $70 billion in direct subsidies to renewables. This isn\u2019t investment\u2014it\u2019s dependence. As Wielicki quips, \u201cThe moment the handouts stop, the industry collapses.\u201d Offshore wind contracts are being scrapped across the East Coast. Siemens and Vestas are hemorrhaging billions. Battery storage is underperforming. Yet the subsidies continue to flow\u2014because the myth of fossil fuel welfare must be sustained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And herein lies the true motivation for this deception. As Wielicki notes, \u201cBecause the $7 trillion claim gives climate bureaucrats and green lobbyists the cover they need. If you can convince the public that fossil fuels are rigging the system with trillions in subsidies, then handing another $100 billion to solar farms that stop working at sundown feels like justice\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the reality is far less noble. Fossil fuels, which still supply over 80% of global energy\u2014as the chart on page 6<\/em> shows\u2014receive less support per unit of energy than any other sector. They keep the lights on, the hospitals running, and the supply chains moving. And they do it while being demonized by elites who jet to climate conferences to scold the rest of us for driving to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Wielicki delivers here is more than a critique\u2014it\u2019s a forensic audit of ideological corruption masquerading as environmental concern. He methodically dismantles the flimsy scaffolding that supports the $7 trillion narrative and exposes it for what it is: a financial fairy tale designed to redistribute wealth under the guise of planetary salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the punchline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBecause the only thing more dangerous than a bad idea\u2026 is when you\u2019re forced to fund it\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is precisely the kind of myth-busting that\u2019s needed to unmask the technocratic overreach powering the green energy grift. Wielicki\u2019s article doesn\u2019t merely challenge a statistic\u2014it challenges an entire worldview built on manipulating fear and fudging numbers to engineer social and economic transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let this article be Exhibit A in the case against climate policy by fiat. And remember: when someone tells you fossil fuels are living off your tax dollars, ask them to show the receipts. Odds are, they\u2019re pointing to a spreadsheet full of make-believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Original article can be found on Dr. Wielicki\u2019s substack.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Matthew Wielicki\u2019s article, \u201cThe $7 Trillion Lie,\u201d is a scathing expos\u00e9 of what may be one of the most brazen accounting tricks in the climate policy playbook. For years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and its ideological allies have floated the claim that fossil fuels receive a jaw-dropping $7 trillion per year in global subsidies. But as Wielicki makes abundantly clear, this figure is not just inflated\u2014it\u2019s fabricated, repackaged propaganda masquerading as economic analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":387409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818352,691826166,691818228,691836376,691836377,691818576,691836375],"class_list":["post-387402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-carbon-taxes","tag-dr-matthew-wielicki","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-green-energy-slush-funds","tag-ideological-corruption","tag-inflation-reduction-act","tag-the-7-trillion-lie","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0AQMlZ7IGASM24HbT3snlxXSFfUcfjWftL5ONGstam6oTFUv4wuSDj7Rl8Kz3glGK79MbOAlCBzHW_w80ephd-Ao-B8zVTuf5nHRwyYggKUYs_zi2CKoHuHSLG_bmBcKp2HC_Aczl6SfobUXkAqQqnFI2tT3U-Q.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1CMq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":294554,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=294554","url_meta":{"origin":387402,"position":0},"title":"Dr. Matthew Wielicki: I Refuse to Stay Silent about Climate Change","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/11\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Dr. Wielicki shares his story and encourages the next generation to reject the doomsday narrative and maintain hope for the future.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-11-131808.png?fit=1174%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-11-131808.png?fit=1174%2C656&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-11-131808.png?fit=1174%2C656&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-11-131808.png?fit=1174%2C656&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/0Screenshot-2024-01-11-131808.png?fit=1174%2C656&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":343880,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=343880","url_meta":{"origin":387402,"position":1},"title":"The Real \u2018Climate Change Deniers\u2019 Are Those Who Deny the Climate Changed Before We Started Burning Fossil Fuels, Says Geologist","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/21\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In 2020, Dr. Matthew Wielicki, then still an Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Alabama, noticed a great deal of anxiety in his students. On the one hand, this was understandable, as the world was just entering the Covid crisis and there was a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0Screenshot-2024-09-20-002741.jpeg?fit=947%2C535&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0Screenshot-2024-09-20-002741.jpeg?fit=947%2C535&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0Screenshot-2024-09-20-002741.jpeg?fit=947%2C535&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/0Screenshot-2024-09-20-002741.jpeg?fit=947%2C535&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":241837,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=241837","url_meta":{"origin":387402,"position":2},"title":"Resignation Due to Academia’s Climate Corruption","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/27\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This week on Twitter, there was an openly raw admission of why academia has descended into little more than intellectual tribalism. 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Heartland\u2019s Jim Lakely, Anthony Watts, and Linnea Lueken will also review the \u201cCrazy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO2)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO2)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Screenshot-2024-08-31-104629.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Screenshot-2024-08-31-104629.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Screenshot-2024-08-31-104629.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Screenshot-2024-08-31-104629.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/0Screenshot-2024-08-31-104629.png?fit=1200%2C666&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=387402"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387411,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387402\/revisions\/387411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/387409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=387402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=387402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=387402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}