$88billion a year - world spend on fossil fuel exploration

Far out. I note Australia is one of the big ones, offering all those subsidies to multi-national corporations to explore for more crap to dig up and pump out to doom the planet. 

Imagine being an alien civilisation looking at WTF us silly humans are doing here; paying for our own means of extinction :s

Rich countries are subsidising oil, gas and coal companies by about $88bn (£55.4bn) a year to explore for new reserves, despite evidence that most fossil fuels must be left in the ground if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change. 

The most detailed breakdown yet of global fossil fuel subsidies has found that the US government provided companies with $5.2bn for fossil fuel exploration in 2013, Australia spent $3.5bn, Russia $2.4bn and the UK $1.2bn. Most of the support was in the form of tax breaks for exploration in deep offshore fields. 

The public money went to major multinationals as well as smaller ones who specialise in exploratory work, according to British thinktank the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Washington-based analysts Oil Change International. more