There was some Twitter noise yesterday about fossil fuel subsidies, with various eco-activist types trying to drum up noise about doing away with them entirely. By an amazing coincidence, Christiana Figueres of the UNFCCC has today tweeted this:
All major economies have agreed to #EndFossilFuelSubsidies - this pledge now needs to be translated into action to fight #climatechange
This will no doubt be presented as a triumph for the green movement.
You have to laugh really. As Matt Sinclair tried valiantly to explain to Bob Ward yesterday, fossil fuel subsidies are something that happens mainly in the developing world, where they are seen as an aid to development. So when Ms Figueres says that "major economies" have agreed not to have fossil fuel subsidies, they are in fact agreeing to do something that they don't do, and moreover would never want to do, the oil industry being seen as a massive cash cow.