Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels

The document examines 58 active fossil fuel production restrictions across 25 countries and 27 subnational jurisdictions, noting a sharp increase in such policies since the 2010s. It highlights that while these measures are expanding, they remain politically fragile and susceptible to rollbacks during high energy price cycles or government changes. The analysis emphasizes the role of subnational governments as early adopters and the importance of strong legal anchoring to prevent repeals.

• There are currently 58 active restrictions on fossil fuel production across 25 countries and 27 subnational jurisdictions across four continents, including bans on new coal mining, moratoria on oil and gas licensing, and prohibitions on specific extraction techniques like fracking.
• The number of production restrictions has grown exponentially over the last decade, suggesting that governments are prioritizing long-term demand trends and stranded asset risks over short-term market signals, such as the price spikes following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Subnational governments often act as leaders in implementing restrictions, sometimes preceding or catalyzing national policy. For example, fracking bans in Scotland (2015) and Wales (2018) preceded a national UK ban in 2019.
• Production restrictions are politically fragile; 15 policies in the database have been rolled back or repealed, often due to changes in government, energy security concerns, or legal challenges.
• The legal form of a restriction impacts its durability. Simple policy statements are easier to reverse than stronger instruments like executive decrees or regulations, which allow civil society to challenge rollbacks in court, as seen with litigation against the Trump administration's repeals of Obama and Biden era restrictions.
• Many restrictions target high-cost extraction areas or ecologically sensitive regions, such as the Arctic, the Great Lakes, and the Amazon, where cost-benefit assessments favor precautionary measures over extraction.
• Production restrictions primarily limit future expansion rather than current output, meaning they may remain symbolic unless paired with comprehensive packages including just transition planning and economic diversification.

APA

Parra, P. A. Y., & Jones, N. (2026). Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/existing-moratoria-bans-restrictions-fossil-fuels

Chicago

Parra, Paola Andrea Yanguas, and Natalie Jones. Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/existing-moratoria-bans-restrictions-fossil-fuels.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Parra |first1=Paola Andrea Yanguas |last2=Jones |first2=Natalie |title=Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 April 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/existing-moratoria-bans-restrictions-fossil-fuels |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{parra2026drawing, author = {Parra, Paola Andrea Yanguas and Jones, Natalie}, title = {{Drawing the Line and Holding It: What existing moratoria, bans, and restrictions reveal about transitioning away from fossil fuels}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/existing-moratoria-bans-restrictions-fossil-fuels}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }