Energy Subsidies - International

The roundtable on the theme of “Energy subsidies in Ukraine and progress of reform” was jointly held by the Committee on Fuel and the Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety of the Parliament of Ukraine and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Kyiv on April 25, 2016. This was the second in the series of events linked to the OECD-led project “Inventory of Energy Subsidies in the EU’s Eastern Partnership Countries", supported by the IISD Global Subsidies Initiative (IISD-GSI) and consultants in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine. A draft report on "Energy subsidies in Ukraine" (available in English and Ukranian) was prepared by IISD-GSI to inform the discussion.  

This paper reviews international models of fossil-fuel subsidy reform and greenhouse gas emissions to support parties to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change.

On Monday, 7th December 2015, the International Institute for Sustainable Development organized an event on Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Climate Change to put a spotlight on the scale and nature of subsidies to fossil fuels, national and international efforts to reform subsidies and the growing momentum behind the International Communiqué to phase out fossil fuel subsidies.

When it comes to phasing out subsidies to the production of polluting oil, gas and coal—something G-20 leaders have committed to every year since 2009—we’re seeing little progress. In fact, as fossil fuel prices have fallen, some countries have even increased subsidies in response.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a special report, Energy and Climate Change, as an input to ongoing climate negotiations, highlighting the pivotal role that fossil-fuel subsidy reform can play in reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs).