How the UNFCCC Can Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP 28 and Beyond

The report highlights a significant gap between government rhetoric and action regarding fossil fuel subsidies, noting that world governments provided a record USD 1.3 trillion in such subsidies in 2022. It critiques current UNFCCC commitments for lacking deadlines and clear definitions of "inefficient" subsidies. The authors propose several pathways for action at COP 28 and beyond, including the adoption of a 'cover decision', integrating subsidy reform into the first global stocktake, and requiring more ambitious, time-bound commitments in updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The document also suggests leveraging climate finance discussions, such as the 'net climate finance' concept and the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), to address public financial flows to fossil fuels.

• Global public financial support for fossil fuels reached a record USD 1.3 trillion in 2022, contradicting the goal of Article 2.1(c) of the 2015 Paris Agreement to align finance flows with low greenhouse gas emissions.
• The IPCC indicates that removing fossil fuel subsidies could reduce global CO2 emissions by 1–4% and total greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10% by 2030, while improving public revenue and macroeconomic performance.
• Current UNFCCC commitments to phase out "inefficient" fossil fuel subsidies, first mentioned at COP 26 and repeated at COP 27, are considered flawed because they lack a clear deadline, use an undefined qualifier, and lack a progress-tracking mechanism.
• National commitments in NDCs are limited: only 29 of 198 parties reference fossil fuel subsidies, and only 16 have actual commitments to reform them. Notably, no G7 or G20 countries are among the 16 committing to reform in their NDCs.
• The authors suggest that COP 28 could strengthen global commitments by setting deadlines (e.g., 2025 for developed and 2030 for developing countries), clarifying the term "inefficient", and expanding the scope to all public financial flows, including state-owned enterprises.
• The Association of Latin America and the Caribbean has proposed a "net climate finance" concept for the new collective quantified goal (NCQG), where the value of climate finance is reduced by the amount of finance provided to high-emissions activities like fossil fuel subsidies.

APA

van Asselt, H., & Skovgaard, J. (2023). How the UNFCCC Can Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP 28 and Beyond. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/unfccc-tackle-fossil-fuel-subsidies-cop-28

Chicago

van Asselt, Harro, and Jakob Skovgaard. How the UNFCCC Can Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP 28 and Beyond. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/unfccc-tackle-fossil-fuel-subsidies-cop-28.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=van Asselt |first1=Harro |last2=Skovgaard |first2=Jakob |title=How the UNFCCC Can Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP 28 and Beyond |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=27 November 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/unfccc-tackle-fossil-fuel-subsidies-cop-28 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vanasselt2023how, author = {van Asselt, Harro and Skovgaard, Jakob}, title = {{How the UNFCCC Can Tackle Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP 28 and Beyond}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/unfccc-tackle-fossil-fuel-subsidies-cop-28}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }