The American Wind Energy Association has just released a plan to phase out the Production Tax Credit, an important federal incentive that has led to the doubling of wind generated electricity. This proposal would provide wind companies with six years of certainty before eliminating it. This makes the wind industry the only energy resource that has volunteered to help reduce the deficit and our country’s huge debt.  Now, it’s time for Big Oil and the rest of fossil fuel industries to propose a plan to phase out their permanent special tax breaks, some of which have been in place for nearly a century.

Adding injury to insult, these same companies are battling to retain $40 billion of tax loopholes that will be paid for by taxpayers who are already providing their additional profits due to high oil and gasoline prices. While consumers and taxpayers get hit with bills for higher gasoline prices and tax loopholes, Big Oil companies get richer by the minute. Congress must heed President Barack Obama’s call to end this unfairness by eliminating these unnecessary handouts.

The IEA specifically cited financial subsidies provided by governments as a key factor in the world’s unsustainable energy path. In 2011, the world subsidized the cost of fossil fuels by $531 billion. This is a 30 percent increase compared to 2010.