The IEA reported in its 2012 World Energy Outlook that there has been a 30 per cent increase in fossil fuel subsidies to about €400 billion in 2011.
“Subsidies to fossil fuels continue to distort energy markets,” Fatih Birol, IEA’s chief economist, added. The report goes on that, although renewables will become the world’s second-largest source of power generation by 2015, this rapid increase hinges critically on continued subsidies. In 2011, these subsidies amounted to about €68 billion, significantly less than for fossil fuels.
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 