Resources

The Philippines has removed the majority of all consumer energy subsidies, successfully phasing out most price subsidies in the downstream oil and electricity sectors in the late 1990s and resisting intermittent demands for their reintroduction. This detailed case study looks into some of the factors that enabled such durable reforms. This includes slowly transitioning towards higher prices and the use of somewhat targeted subsidies and transfers to provide support for the country's most vulnerable consumers. The Philippines' government has also engaged in proactive efforts to articulate the rationale for price changes, monitor the deregulated market and repeatedly investigate the costs and benefits of reform through a series of high-level independent panels.

This paper, prepared by CUTS Institute for Regulation and Competition, examines the challenges in reforming subsidized electricity for India's agricultural sector.

This is the first edition of the India Energy Subsidy Review, a biannual publication of the IISD's Global Subsidies Initiative.

Green industrial policy (GIP) is the pursuit by governments of national economic excellence in key green economy sectors, with a view to creating globally competitive domestic firms. This report is one in a series that considers the lessons for GIP that can be learnt from policies in the renewable energy sector. The aim of the series is to provide policy makers with research to support the development of cost effective, well targeted policies for the development of green industries. The reports highlight how policies have worked, the outcomes of the policies and the lessons that have been learnt.

In September 2013 Sudan introduced the third and most dramatic in a series of fuel subsidy cuts, raising prices of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 65 to 75 per cent each. This came in a context of high economic pressure, following the loss of oil revenue from South Sudan after July 2011. That resulted in significant structural imbalances in the fiscal and current accounts, sending the black market exchange rate out of control and requiring the Central Bank to print money to finance excessive government spending.

This briefing note outlines the relationship between fossil-fuel subsidy reform and Indonesia's many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Fossil-fuel subsidies are significant drain on public finances. They are also bad for the environment, while benefitting higher income consumers more than poorer ones. This comic book provides an accessible and fun introduction to fossil-fuel subsidies in India. It details how the subsidies work, their impacts on people and the economy, and what the Indian government is doing to change these policies.

Fossil fuel subsidies undermine efforts to mitigate climate change and damage the trading system. However, multilateral discussion is hampered by inconsistent definitions and incomplete data.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development has the pleasure to share its call for proposals to conduct research and prepare a publication on ‘The role of government support in development of Yamal LNG and Prirazlomnoe projects in Russia’.

China's economy continues to grow rapidly with corresponding increases in both energy consumption and environmental pollution.