Energy Subsidies - International

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.

Nairobi―28-29th April―A two day workshop took place on ‘Reforming Fossil Fuel Subsidies for an Inclusive Green Economy,’ hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and supported by the Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI), the German development agency GIZ and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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.

Fossil fuel subsidies undermine efforts to mitigate climate change and damage the trading system. However, multilateral discussion is hampered by inconsistent definitions and incomplete data.

19 November 2013: An interactive session on 'Reaping Emissions Reductions from Fossil-Fuel Subsidy Reform: Learning from Success Stories' was organized by Friends of Fossil-Fuel Subsidy Reform and the IISD Global Subsidies Initiative, on the sidelines of the Warsaw Climate Change Conference.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) circulated its draft Fifth Assessment Report among peer reviewers last weekend. While the draft revises down the low-end of the range of this century’s projected temperature rise to 2.7°C, most scientists find that greater than 5°C is more likely, given the current trends that could double CO2 concentrations in the coming decades.

The Russian Presidency held the G-20’s first “Civil Summit” in Moscow, 13-14 June 2013. Three hundred and fifty delegates from across civil society discussed how the G-20 could deliver “Strong, Sustainable, Balanced and Inclusive Growth”. Recommendations were presented to Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin at a 1½ hour meeting in the Kremlin on 14 June 2013.