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OTTAWA — The federal government has taken a step towards fulfilling it’s promise to get rid of fossil fuel subsidies by agreeing to finally explain how much it actually spends on them.

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr was in Argentina on Thursday where he and his Argentinian counterpart announced that each country will conduct a study on how much the other country subsidizes its fossil fuel industries.

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As part of both the G7 and G20, Canada has committed every year since 2009 that it will work to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. The Liberals made it a campaign promise in 2015 and the following year said it would be done by 2025.

Last year, auditor general Michael Ferguson said he tried to test the progress being made on phasing out the subsidies but blasted the government for refusing to provide documents that would allow him to do so.

Last month, a dozen of Canada’s most well known and influential environment groups flagged lack of action on fossil fuel subsidies in a report card on the government’s efforts to deliver on its environmental promises.