Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries

The paper finds that removing fossil fuel subsidies across 26 modeled countries leads to an average 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which increases to 13.2% if combined with a 10% energy tax and reinvestment in renewables and energy efficiency. Globally, the removal of these subsidies is estimated to reduce emissions by 6.4% to 8.2% by 2050. The study highlights that governments save an average of USD 93 for every tonne of CO2e removed through subsidy reform, with total cumulative fiscal savings across the 26 countries reaching USD 2.56 trillion by 2030.

• Removing fossil fuel subsidies across 26 modeled countries results in a simple national average of 6% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from 2018 to 2025 compared to business as usual.
• The average GHG emission reduction increases to 13.2% by 2030 if the reform includes a 10% energy tax from 2025 to 2030 and a shift of 30% of savings and revenues into renewable energy and energy efficiency investments.
• Fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) across the 26 analyzed countries is projected to generate USD 2.56 trillion in cumulative fiscal savings and abate 4.8 GtCO2e of cumulative GHG emissions by 2030, with an average government saving of USD 93 per tonne of CO2e removed.
• A review of 60 research papers indicates that global GHG emission reductions from fossil fuel subsidy removal range between 1% and 10% by 2030 and between 6.4% and 8.2% by 2050, though combining subsidy removal with appropriate taxation could reduce global emissions by 28%.
• Governments are encouraged to integrate the co-benefits of GHG emission reductions from fossil fuel subsidy reform and taxation into second-generation Nationally Determined Contributions.

APA

Geddes,, P. G. G. W. G. B. V. (2019). Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/raising-ambition-through-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform

Chicago

Geddes,, Philip Gass,Ivetta Gerasimchuk,Peter Wooders,Vibhuti Garg,Andrea Bassi,Balasubramanian Viswanathan,Anna. Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/publications/raising-ambition-through-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Geddes, |first1=Philip Gass,Ivetta Gerasimchuk,Peter Wooders,Vibhuti Garg,Andrea Bassi,Balasubramanian Viswanathan,Anna |title=Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=7 July 2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/raising-ambition-through-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{geddes2019raising, author = {Geddes,, Philip Gass,Ivetta Gerasimchuk,Peter Wooders,Vibhuti Garg,Andrea Bassi,Balasubramanian Viswanathan,Anna}, title = {{Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/raising-ambition-through-fossil-fuel-subsidy-reform}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }