United Nations panel urges world leaders to take action on clean energy and fossil-fuel subsidies

A new report from the U.N. Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability, a panel comprised of 22 high-profile government and business representatives commissioned by the United Nations, calls for governments to phase out subsidies for fossil-fuel projects.

The report, titled Resilient People, Resilient Planet: A Future Worth Choosing, suggests that sustainability must be made a top priority as soon as possible. The U.N. panel is calling for acceleration in the adoption of alternative energy and energy efficient practices for the sake of the world.

In the report, the panel delivers 56 recommendations regarding the implementation of alternative energy and the phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies. By phasing out these subsidies, the world’s governments could save an average of $100 billion every year. This money could go toward clean energy projects that would have a dramatic, beneficial impact on the environment and each country’s ability to attain sustainability.

Furthermore, poor communities around the world can benefit from these cuts to subsidies as would encourage alternative energy companies to hire more people to handle the massive influx of support from governments.

The panel also urges for the deployment of alternative energy systems, such as solar arrays and hydrogen fuel cells. These systems would save governments billions each year in costs associated with exporting fuels.

The U.N. panel plans to get aggressive with world leaders when they meet for the Earth Summit 2012 in Brazil later this year and pressure them into making good on their promises of making sustainability a priority.