Removal of consumer subsidies can lead to carbon emission reductions (6 to 8 per cent by 2050 globally), Reductions that can be improved further with a switch or a "SWAP" towards sustainable energy. This report describes the scale and impact of fossil fuel subsidies on sustainable development. It describes the SWAP concept to switch savings made from fossil fuel subsidy reform, towards sustainable energy, energy efficiency and safety nets. The report provides potential SWAP outlines for Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco and Zambia. "Making the Switch" was written for the Nordic Council Ministers by the Global Subsidies Initiative of IISD and Gaia Consulting.

​The absence of a road initiated a journey to a remote village located in a forest in Odisha, India. The village, Sarda Gram Panchayat, is actually a cluster of five villages and is located in a dense forest near the Sambalpur District of Odisha. The remoteness of the villages has severed ties to development work—energy access, education, health facilities and other services all have hit a roadblock.

A new report from IISD's Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), entitled Gender and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform, suggests that the reform of fossil fuel subsidies should focus assistance towards women in poverty.

This report explores current knowledge on energy subsidy reforms and gender through a review of existing literature. First, it sets out the global context of energy subsidies, energy access and gender empowerment. It then reviews literature on gender, energy access, fossil fuel subsidies and mitigation measures related to subsidy reform, such as cash transfers. Finally, it provides an overview of these issues across three focus countries: Bangladesh, India and Nigeria, as well as case studies on Peru, Mexico and Morocco.

As part of its work on energy policy and sustainable development in India, the Global Subsidies Initiative publishes a regular briefing on issues related to energy subsidies.

Delhi—4 May— The Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) recently organized a ministerial-level event in Delhi entitled “National Dialogue on Subsidies for Energy Access.” The event was organized in cooperation with the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) on 4 May, 2016.

Kerosene is used by millions of households in rural India to meet basic lighting needs, and subsidies have long been used to make the fuel more affordable. But for health, safety and environmental reasons, a switch to solar power is better—and more affordable in the absence of kerosene subsidies.

This study, undertaken by IISD-GSI and ICF International, untangles the energy-water nexus by analyzing how subsidized electricity has incentivized groundwater extraction in Haryana, India.