The members of the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh today came up with something pretty cool – they agreed on a draft of a plan to phase out subsidies for fossil fuels. Now, though Reuters reports that there isn’t a timetable for this move (it’s expected in the “medium term”), it’s impressive that some of the countries that heavily subsidize their fossil fuels signed on to this.

The draft G20 statement showed countries such as Russia, India, and China will back a move to reduce and eliminate most financial support that keeps fuel prices artificially low, albeit without a timetable for the cuts. Such subsidies hike greenhouse gas emissions by boosting consumer demand…

Eliminating such subsidies would reduce greenhouse gases blamed for global warming by 10 percent in 2050, the draft said, citing data from the International Energy Agency and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Ten percent is not a shabby start, to be frank (can I still be Garth?). As well, it bodes slightly better for Copenhagen in December. If disparate nations can agree on such large issues as fossil fuel subsidies, there is hope that even more can be agreed upon with further talks. Oh, but hey!

Guess who doesn’t like this idea very much?

Energy producers were less enthused by the phase-out plan. The American Petroleum Institute (API), which represents the U.S. petroleum and natural gas industry, said the U.S. government had to make clear how the policy would affect the United States.

“The Obama administration and Congress now face many difficult choices if they choose to comply with the G-20 commitment to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies,” the API said. “Above all else, the president and Congress should not use this commitment as an excuse to raise energy taxes on American consumers and businesses.”

Hey, you know, gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette, as people above the age of 97 like to say. Anyhow, back to the big picture. The talks leading up to December’s climate change conference have not been particularly productive as of yet, so it’s great to see something, even something without a firm timetable, agreed on by all these powerful nations. It’s a small step, surely, but it’s at least one all the nations are taking.

photo credit: futureatlas.com’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons