According to the White House, G-20 leaders, meeting in Seoul, South Korea, have re-affirmed their commitment to a decision taken at the Pittsburgh G-20 Summit in 2009 to phase out fossil fuel subsidies in the medium term. They recognized the substantial progress that has already been made in the last 14 months and agreed to monitor their progress over the next year.
The White House says phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is important because it encourages energy conservation, improves our energy security, helps us meet budget goals and provides a critical down payment on our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A gradual multilateral removal of existing fossil fuel subsidies could result in global greenhouse gas emissions dropping by 10% by 2050 relative to what is otherwise expected.
Leaders also agreed to take concrete steps to make the world's physical oil markets more transparent and to continue to improve the regulation of financial oil derivative markets. These actions are expected to reduce the volatility of oil prices, thereby benefiting both energy producers and consumers.
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