Options for Taking Forward a Potential Voluntary Standstill Commitment on Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies

This research paper explores options for a voluntary standstill commitment on inefficient fossil fuel subsidies for APEC member economies, as tasked by the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade. It outlines three potential implementation models—inventory-based, value-based, and hybrid—to prevent the increase of market-distorting subsidies that have negative environmental impacts.

• The study was commissioned to assist APEC officials in fulfilling a mandate from the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade to investigate voluntary standstill options for inefficient fossil fuel subsidies for members capable of doing so.
• APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade stated on 5 June 2021 that subsidies which distort the market damage the level playing field, and expressed growing concern regarding subsidies with negative environmental consequences.
• The document proposes three specific options for implementing a voluntary standstill on inefficient fossil fuel subsidies: an inventory-based approach where members commit to not adding new items to a list of subsidies; a value-based approach that prevents the financial value of subsidies from rising above a set baseline; and a hybrid approach combining both methods.
• In a hybrid standstill model, an inventory-based approach would be applied to categories such as tax expenditure, transfer of risk, under-pricing of goods and services, and direct transfer of funds, while a value-based approach would be used for induced transfer (price support).

APA

Gass,, P. W. K. B. S. (2021). Options for Taking Forward a Potential Voluntary Standstill Commitment on Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/voluntary-standstill-commitment-inefficient-fossil-fuel-subsidies

Chicago

Gass,, Peter Wooders,Jonas Kuehl,Theresia Betty Sumarno,Philip. Options for Taking Forward a Potential Voluntary Standstill Commitment on Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/publications/voluntary-standstill-commitment-inefficient-fossil-fuel-subsidies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gass, |first1=Peter Wooders,Jonas Kuehl,Theresia Betty Sumarno,Philip |title=Options for Taking Forward a Potential Voluntary Standstill Commitment on Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=29 December 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/voluntary-standstill-commitment-inefficient-fossil-fuel-subsidies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gass2021options, author = {Gass,, Peter Wooders,Jonas Kuehl,Theresia Betty Sumarno,Philip}, title = {{Options for Taking Forward a Potential Voluntary Standstill Commitment on Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/voluntary-standstill-commitment-inefficient-fossil-fuel-subsidies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }