Resources

The International Institute for Sustainable Development, IISD, and the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform organized an event on Monday, 13 November 2017, during COP23 in Bonn, Germany.

Introduction India is the world’s second most populous country and the world’s third largest economy—and it continues to grow at a rapid pace. It is also undertaking enormous efforts to provide modern energy products and services to millions of households living in energy poverty. In years to come, it will therefore have to deal with a substantial increase in the demand for energy. How will this demand be met?

The Government of Indonesia is considering reform of its consumer subsidies for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) due to its rising fiscal cost: IDR 25 trillion (USD 1.9 billion) in 2016: around half of its total energy subsidy expenditure.

In their closing statement at the UNFCCC COP 23 in 2017, the world’s 47 least developed countries requested that the Talanoa Dialogue include “managing a phaseout of fossil fuels”. The 2018 Talanoa Dialogue is a crucial opportunity to increase climate mitigation ambition and effectiveness by putting fossil fuel phase-out on the international climate agenda.

This policy brief examines the current system of kerosene subsidies in India, looking at key issues and the impact subsidies have on the distribution of clean, off-grid solar lighting solutions.

China is the world’s most populous country and in 2016, the world’s #1 in coal consumption and production; # 2 in the consumption and production of oil products; and #3 in natural gas consumption. Energy is a key issue in China’s policies, and government support has played an important role steering the development of the energy sector. China is determined to shift to a low-carbon economy: the country has committed to reach the peak of GHG emissions around 2030 and  “to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” as both a G-20 and APEC member.

‘Global’ estimates of fossil-fuel subsidies vary between organizations: from a total of US$ 2 trillion for the IMF’s post tax estimate to the IEA’s US$ 544 billion. This short primer developed by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) in conjunction with the OECD, World Bank, IMF and the IEA aims to explain the estimates and methods used.

This policy brief looks at the current market situation for off-grid solar technologies in India and the current barriers to an enabling business environment for solar.