Gaining Traction: The importance of transparency in accelerating the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies

This report examines how increased transparency and a two-track approach—combining domestic accounting improvements with an international data-gathering regime—can accelerate the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies to support climate change and sustainable development goals.

• The report argues that transparency is essential for government accountability regarding public spending and that high-quality data and analysis are necessary to prioritize and monitor the effectiveness of fossil-fuel subsidy reforms, which are seen as undermining sustainable development, energy security, and climate change goals.
• To support calls for reform from APEC and the G-20, the paper proposes a two-track strategy for evaluating and reporting fossil-fuel subsidies: one track focusing on domestic improvements in reporting and accounting, and another focusing on the creation of an international regime for data management and gathering.

APA

Laan,, T. (2010). Gaining Traction: The importance of transparency in accelerating the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/gaining-traction-importance-transparency-accelerating-reform-fossil-fuel

Chicago

Laan,, Tara. Gaining Traction: The importance of transparency in accelerating the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2010. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/gaining-traction-importance-transparency-accelerating-reform-fossil-fuel.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Laan, |first1=Tara |title=Gaining Traction: The importance of transparency in accelerating the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=4 May 2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/gaining-traction-importance-transparency-accelerating-reform-fossil-fuel |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{laan2010gaining, author = {Laan,, Tara}, title = {{Gaining Traction: The importance of transparency in accelerating the reform of fossil-fuel subsidies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/gaining-traction-importance-transparency-accelerating-reform-fossil-fuel}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }