The world could solve a large part of its fiscal problems by scrapping $2.4tn in energy subsidies, the International Monetary Fund declared yesterday.
国际货币基金组织(IMF)昨日宣称，如果世界各国能取消总计2.4万亿美元的能源补贴，各国的财政问题可在很大程度上得到解决。
The fund’s call suggests higher fuel prices could become a central condition of IMF help in the future, with subsidies already proving a sticking point in its talks with countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Ukraine.
IMF的呼吁显示，提高能源价格可能成为未来该组织提供援助的核心条件。能源补贴问题已成为IMF与埃及、巴基斯坦和乌克兰等国谈判中的一个症结。
David Lipton, first deputy managing director of the IMF, said countries should scrap fuel subsidies and charge for the cost of pollution – but said the fund was not yet ready to make carbon taxes a condition of its lending programmes.
IMF第一副总裁戴维•利普顿(David Lipton)表示，各国应废除能源补贴，并对污染成本收费。但他表示，IMF尚未打算将征收碳排放税列为其贷款计划的条件之一。
“There are 20 countries that spend more than 5 per cent of GDP on energy subsidies,” said Mr Lipton. “It leads to a fiscal problem because the subsidies are so big that it threatens the fiscal sustainability of the country.”
利普顿说：“目前有20个国家在能源补贴上的支出超过其国内生产总值(GDP)的5%。补贴太高会威胁一国财政的可持续性，从而引发财政问题。”
For the first time, the IMF has put a price on the worldwide fiscal cost of energy subsidies. It says regular subsidies, where the price of fuel is lower than the cost of producing it, amount to $480bn, mainly in developing countries.
这是IMF首次给出全球能源补贴财政成本的总金额。IMF表示，各国提供的常规能源补贴（燃料价格低于燃料生产成本）总计达4800亿美元（主要是由发展中国家提供的）。
But indirect subsidies, where countries do not fully charge energy users for the costs of pollution and congestion, add another $1.9tn, with 40 per cent in the developed world, the IMF says. Those figures are likely to be controversial because they count untaxed carbon emissions as a subsidy but do not include tax breaks for renewable energy such as wind.
但除此之外，各国提供的间接补贴（指不向能源使用者收取全额的污染费和拥堵费）总计达1.9亿美元（其中40%是由发达国家提供的）。这些数字可能存在争议，因为IMF将未征税的碳排放也算作一项补贴，而风能等可再生能源享受的税收优惠却未被计算在内。
In absolute terms the top three energy subsidisers are the US at $502bn, $279bn in China, and $116bn in Russia, according to the fund.
IMF称，以绝对金额计算，世界上能源补贴最多的三个国家分别是：美国（5020亿美元）、中国（2790亿美元）和俄罗斯（1160亿美元）。
The IMF is calling on developing countries to replace fuel subsidies with cash payments to the poorest people. Introducing the payments first can help to make scrapping the subsidy more politically palatable, it says.
IMF呼吁发展中国家取消能源补贴，将节省下来的资金发给本国最贫穷人群。它表示，先行发放这类资金有助于让取消能源补贴之举在政治上变得更可接受。