英国新闻听力 五国代表会晤商讨废除石油（在线收听）

BBC News with Sue Montgomery.

A meeting of five of the world's leading energy consuming countries is calling for an end to oil price subsidies to try to stand this soaring cost of oil. Representatives of Japan, China, India, South Korea and the United States said the measures distorted the market, causing higher oil prices. From Tokyo, Chris Hogg.

Heavy fuel subsidies are used throughout the developing world to try to ease burden on the poorest in society. The five countries meeting here, who between them consume half the world's energy resources, issued a statement, saying there was a need to phase out the subsidies gradually to help stem demand. But they differed over how fast this should be done. India insisted there was no agreement to remove the subsidies altogether. Its representative at the talks said the country was not ready to move to a position where the market decided the price its citizens should pay for oil. China also made clear it had no time frame for moving towards lower subsidies, saying they needed to consider carefully how removing them might affect the country's social and political stability.