This publication aims to provide the first comprehensive and consistent record of energy subsidies in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, with a view to improving transparency and establishing a solid analytical basis that can help build the case for further reforms in these countries (this study covers Armenia, Azerbaijan Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine).

Based on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standard methodology, the study provides quantitative estimates of government support provided to consumers and producers of coal, oil and related petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity and heat generated on the basis of these fossil fuels. This report also briefly looks at public support allocated to energy-efficiency measures and renewable energy sources in the EaP countries and discusses the taxation and energy pricing policies that underpin the analysis of energy subsidies.

This publication was prepared within the framework of the Greening Economies in the Eastern Neighbourhood (EaP GREEN) Project, supported by the European Union and co-ordinated with governments of the EaP countries and United Nation partners: UNECE, UN Environment and UNIDO.

The project was carried out by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD), with support from Sigra Group and SST-Poland.

Country chapters are also available in their national languages below:

• Energy Subsidies in Armenia
• Energy Subsidies in Azerbaijan
• Energy Subsidies in Belarus
• Energy Subsidies in Georgia
• Energy Subsidies in Ukraine

This paper examines two questions that arise at the intersection of environmental sustainability and global value chains.

The first relates to trade and other barriers to the smooth functioning of environmental goods and services value chains. The development, production and distribution of these products are vital for a sustainable, low-carbon future, but differences over definitions, protectionism and regulatory uncertainty pose challenges. The second question relates to how value-chain actors can be encouraged to improve sustainability outcomes throughout the value chain, particularly through sustainability standards and public-private initiatives. 

Summary provided by the World Economic Forum.

Winnipeg is changing. Winnipeg has always been changing.

The fourth edition of Our City, A Peg Report looks at Winnipeg through the lens of the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic, and social well-being. These three pillars are examined together because, as a whole, they provide a holistic understanding of well-being.

This is the first Peg report to include the integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This is a new approach and lens for Peg that has also been embedded within the online tool (mypeg.ca). Showing the linkages between Peg indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals allows us to not only track our own well-being, but also provides an opportunity to see how we are influencing, and part of, change globally. 

Winnipeg is changing, and Peg is tracking our progress.

New polling shows that Canadians are strongly opposed to federal and provincial governments using public dollars to subsidize oil and gas companies.

Despite this significant public opposition, Canadian governments continue to hand out billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies, without disclosing to the public the value of the financial supports and tax provisions available to the industry.

In this report, polling data from Ekos shows that Canadians want transparency on how much public money is supporting fossil fuel companies; that Canadians understand the environmental and climate benefits of ending these subsidies; and that they are more likely to support political parties that promise to phase them out.

Sustainable communities are places that have well-functioning social, economic, and environmental realms that enhance and strengthen the community in a holistic manner. While Winnipeg’s natural and built environment indicators lie within the environment realm, they overlap with and influence both the economy and society. Winnipeggers' ability to work, live, play, and care for one another is what makes their city a great place to live.

Dive into this moment-in-time report drawn from the online Peg data dashboard, which measures the health of IISD's headquarters city year-over-year in ways that count.

Coal plays a very important role in the life of Indonesians, affecting many economic and social aspects in the country.

However, coal is proven to have very noxious effects on human health. When burned, coal emits different toxic elements that are related to cancer as well as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

This paper looks at the health impacts of coal, including related non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their costs to Indonesians, suggesting several ways the country could reduce the negative impacts of coal on health.

This joint IISD-Oxfam guide was designed in response to the long-standing challenges that women have faced as a result of large-scale land-based investments in the agricultural sector.

It sets out different "entry points" for communities to get involved in the decisions around such investments, with these "entry points" linked to different stages in that process. It clarifies how the guide can be used and what contexts might be appropriate. The guide is also informed by consultations undertaken in various countries regarding community engagement efforts.

Women represent a large percentage of the workforce engaged in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—up to 40 or 50 per cent in Africa alone. But there’s an invisibility problem.

The contribution of women to the mining sector is often masked by the dominant profile of men’s roles in mining, which hinders women’s meaningful participation. When they are unable to participate in key stages of mining, women are often unaware of key information, which gives men an advantage that allows them to exercise control over financial matters.

This report from the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development highlights the key challenges and opportunities women in ASM face, including access to finance, access to equipment and technology, institutional support and services and more.

In November 2015, the Canadian province of Alberta committed to a phase-out of coal power by 2030. The phase-out of coal power in Alberta will involve the retirement of over 40 per cent of Alberta’s 2016 installed capacity and the de facto phase-out of local thermal coal mines.

Alberta's coal phase-out is part of the province's wider Climate Leadership Plan. To implement the phase-out, Alberta's NDP government relies on three pillars. First, the government announced a CAD 1.1 billion payout to coal power companies under Off-Coal Agreements that aim to ensure political longevity and foster a positive investment climate. Second, CAD 45 million has been allocated in programming to transition coal workers and communities. The funding for Off-Coal Agreements and transition support to workers and communities comes from carbon tax revenues. Third, Alberta launched a new electricity market design to bring in replacement power. While public opinion is still divided, Alberta’s solution gained the support of organized labour, power companies, public health advocates, environmental non-governmental organizations and the federal government.

This paper explores the circumstances leading to the phase-out and the actions taken by affected players for those who may draw inspiration and lessons from Alberta: policy-makers, campaigners, environmental groups, the coal industry and others transitioning to a low-carbon economy in Canada and the world over.

On January 11 and 12, 2018, IISD and FES co-organized an expert meeting in Versoix, Switzerland, on the topic of Integrating Investor Obligations and Corporate Accountability Provisions in Trade and Investment Agreements.

A diverse group of 30 experts assembled, with expertise ranging from diplomacy, economics, law and environment to the fields of investment, human rights and trade. Their discussions focused on finding a pathway to articulating and incorporating investor obligations in international economic agreements, specifically international investment agreements and international economic partnership or trade agreements with investment chapters. This report presents some of the main points that emerged from those discussions.