SUBSIDY WATCH BLOG

It is ever clearer that fossil fuel subsidies are detrimental to sustainable development. However, in a time of historic low oil prices, the gap between international oil prices and consumer energy prices has narrowed dramatically, thus offering countries a huge window of opportunity to phase-out these subsidies. For this and many other reasons, the elimination of these subsidies continue to make global headlines.

Geneva—11-13 February—Last week the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the IISD Energy programme helped launch a new gender and energy initiative organised by ENERGIA and funded by UKDFID in Geneva at the IISD offices with 30 consortium participants.  The IISD programme will focus on energy empowerment, energy sector reform and impacts for gender.

A new report from the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Global Subsidies Initiative of IISD finds that the removal of fossil-fuel subsidies to consumers (US$ 543 billion in 2014) and to society could reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by between 6-13% by 2050.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) presented its vision of renewable energy development to the Sustainable Development Working Group of the Arctic Council in Whitehorse on March 1, 2015.

Despite slow but solid progress at the climate change negotiations in Lima, the Conference of Parties this year nonetheless saw promising discussions around national efforts to tackle climate change on-the-ground. This includes increasing calls in the last month to realize opportunities stemming from the removal of US$ 550 billion of subsidies to fossil fuels.

‘100% renewables by 2050’ was the driving theme of the Academy REN21 held in Bonn 10-12 November 2014 to celebrate its 10 years driving networks to promote the deployment of renewable energy. Speakers—including Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Christine Lins, Executive Secretary of REN21—noted how the amount of renewables now deployed to generate electricity was far in excess of projections made in 2004 when REN21 was set up.  A straw poll of the 180 delegates showed a clear majority who believed that 100% Renewables by 2050 was achievable. This is now the focus of a number of campaigns, for example the “Go 100% Renewables Campaign”. Speakers remarked how quickly this concept and target had moved into the mainstream.

On Saturday 18th October the Indian Government announced a series of policy decisions in relation to energy, including decontrol of diesel pricing, revision of natural gas prices on a market-linked basis, and proposed changes to domestic LPG subsidy entitlements and delivery mechanisms. This package of measures, presented as a reflection of the new NDA administration’s reformist intent, represents a complex mix of continuity and change in relation to the previous UPA government’s policies, with important implications (both positive and negative) for the future direction of Indian energy policy.

Rome—13-14 October—The Desertec Industial Initiative (Dii) held the 5th Dii Desert Energy Conference on October 13-14 in Rome, Italy.

Phase out subsidies for fossil-fuels and agricultural inputs, and incentives for urban sprawl, to drive more efficient use of resources and release public funds for other uses, including programmes to benefit those on low incomes.

The most recent draft of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an outcome from Rio+20 and The Future We Want, now includes international cooperation and potentially financial support towards cleaner fossil-fuel technologies; however, the draft goals no longer recognise the need to phase-out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies, which stood at $554 billion in 2012 (IEA, 2013). That is four times the level of aid from the OECD DAC in 2013 ($134 billion). This is a step backwards.

Nuclear power will be the featured energy source in the International Energy Agency’s 2014 World Energy Outlook (WEO).1 To gather input, the IEA convened 100 experts in Paris on 31 March for an informal meeting—“The Future of Nuclear Power”—to help shape the three chapters of the upcoming WEO, which is standard reading for all in the energy policy field. The IEA’s Chief Economist, Fatih Birol, introduced the session noting that the WEO was always objective and does not lobby for any energy source or technology.