![]() Renewables fall shortįunds for green energy grew slowly over the last two years, but were never above 1% of the energy budget. These amounts are not part of Climate Tracker’s analysis. The government’s spending on fossil fuels is even bigger, considering that most of the projects receive tax cuts rather than funds directly from the state. The energy transition and the Paris Agreement are off the table”, stated Di Paola. ![]() “When you compare how much the government spends on fossil fuels with renewables, you see their decisions are put on maintaining an energy model based on dirty energy rather than clean alternatives. Photo: Energy Secretary.įor Di Paola, the spending on fossil fuels means the country is drifting further away from its climate commitments. She argued that the energy transition is key to limiting greenhouse gas emissions, more so considering the energy sector is the main pollutant in Argentina. The new fossil fuel incentives will focus on offshore exploration. A fossil fuel platform in the Argentinian Sea, near Tierra del Fuego. However, this year the figure represented a smaller share of the total energy budget, with 25% of the total. Another $3.5 billion pesos were planned that year for “Infrastructure Works in Energy, Gas and Oil in Santa Cruz”, a province in the South of the country. The next year, in 2021, the government directed even more money to fossil fuels, $ 152 billion pesos, which were spent on almost the same subsidies as 2020. A smaller portion ($357 million pesos) went to expanding the gas network. Most of the cash alloted to this policy went to stimulate natural gas production (the main source for electricity in the country), subsidize homes, and financially support gas distribution companies. This means 32% of the funds for the energy sector went to subsidies and stimulus for the industry, according to the budget presented by the Ministry of Economy. Dirty spendingĪrgentina spent $ 76 billion pesos in 2020 for the “Formulation and execution of the fossil fuels policy”. It also clearly contradicts the government’s own climate pledges, as president Alberto Fernández stated that climate action was a “national priority” last September during the Latin America Climate Summit. A 2021 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) insists there can’t be any new oil and gas projects if the world wants to meet this target. This spending goes against scientific recommendations that call for a halt in fossil fuel projects, in order to reach the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming near 1.5☌. The rest of the energy budget is divided between several other programs, which include actions to extend the electric grid, nuclear energy expenses, financial assistance for public companies and energy rationing programs. The Argentinian government plans to keep investing in fossil fuels in 2022, according to the proposed budget, with at least 2 new projects focused on oil and gas exploration. In 2020, the government spent 32% of the energy budget directly on fossil fuels. María Di Paola, an economist and researcher at Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales ( FARN), said Argentina’s climate policy is not consistent with its pledges, and added that the real government targets are clear in their financial plans. The lack of funds will continue throughout 2022, with just 0.62% of the energy budget for clean energy, according to the proposed plan presented in September by the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán. In fact, since Fernandez took power in December of 2019, no new renewable energy projects have been submitted, official documents show. In 2020, the Argentinian national government assigned 90 times more money to fossil fuels programs than renewable energy projects. In spite of the green pledges, during Fernandez’s presidency, Argentina assigned less than 1% of the energy budget for renewables, while at the same time increasing subsidies for fossil fuels, a budget analysis by Climate Tracker shows. The clock of planetary destruction will not stop if we don’t build a new development model,” he said, just weeks before expanding fossil fuel programs. ![]() “The moment to act (against climate change) is now. Just a week before the Argentinian government announced new fossil fuels subsidies, president Alberto Fernández gathered many Latin American presidents to boost climate action.
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