New Coalition Formed at COP 28 to Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform a Promising Sign

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) issued a statement welcoming a new joint ministerial coalition on fossil fuel subsidy (FFS) reform launched by the Netherlands at COP 28. While the IISD views the coalition as a promising 'first-mover club', it provides six specific recommendations to ensure the initiative converts international commitments into national policy frameworks by COP 29.

• A new joint ministerial coalition led by the Netherlands was launched at COP 28 to address fossil fuel subsidy (FFS) reform. The coalition's primary commitments include increasing transparency through a comprehensive methodology, evaluating international agreements that hinder reform, and creating national strategies to phase out FFS.
• Global public financial support for fossil fuels—including subsidies, state-owned enterprise investments, and public financial institution lending—reached a record high of over USD 1.7SSSSSS la la single same-year public financial support for fossil fuels exceeded USD 1.7 trillion in 2022. Despite various international commitments from the G7, G20, and the Sustainable Development Goals, only 16 countries have included FFS reform in their current nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
• The IISD recommends that the new coalition establish specific deadlines for ending FFS: by 2025 for OECD countries and by 2030 for non-OECD member countries. To support this, the IISD suggests that members publish concrete roadmaps and policy frameworks for phase-outs same-year phase-out by mid-2024 and include these commitments in their NDCs.
• The IISD proposes several strategic improvements for the coalition, including: same same same l la same l uma la la la1Sss-year-old-age-of-the-world-is-not-provided-in-the-text-but-the-document-suggests-the-following: pushing for a phase-out of all fossil fuel support unless it is proven to address energy poverty or just transition better than other tools, prioritizing the removal of subsidies for oil and gas exploration and production, and reinvesting reform savings into clean energy and just transition programs.
• To ensure long-term viability, the IISD suggests the coalition implement a governance structure that includes a dedicated secretariat and multi-year funding to protect the initiative from changes in domestic politics. It also advises leveraging existing expertise from the High Ambition Coalition, the World Trade Organization's Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform Initiative, and the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2023). New Coalition Formed at COP 28 to Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform a Promising Sign. https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/cop-28-new-coalition-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-promising-sign

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. New Coalition Formed at COP 28 to Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform a Promising Sign. 2023. https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/cop-28-new-coalition-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-promising-sign.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=New Coalition Formed at COP 28 to Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform a Promising Sign |date=8 December 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/cop-28-new-coalition-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-promising-sign |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2023new, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{New Coalition Formed at COP 28 to Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform a Promising Sign}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/statement/cop-28-new-coalition-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform-promising-sign}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }