Fuelling the Recovery

This policy brief by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that Indonesia can increase its revenue for COVID-19 recovery by transitioning from fuel subsidies to higher fuel taxes, citing India's successful transition as a model.

• Indonesia could generate IDR 31 trillion (USD 2.2 billion) annually—representing 2% of current government revenue—by implementing a tax increase of IDR 500 (~USD 3.5 cents) per litre for gasoline and diesel, which is less than 8% of retail prices.
• India provides a precedent for Indonesia by demonstrating that transitioning from high transport fuel subsidies to relatively high taxes is politically and economically feasible, with the resulting revenue recently used to fund India's COVID-19 response.
• In India, subsidies for electric vehicles and renewable energy more than doubled in FY 2022. While the gap between fossil fuel support and clean energy support narrowed from nine times greater in FY 2021, India still allocated four times more support to fossil fuels than clean energy.

APA

Viswanathan,, T. L. S. (2021). Fuelling the Recovery. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/fuelling-recovery-india-subsidies-help-indonesia

Chicago

Viswanathan,, Tara Laan,Anissa Suharsono,Balasubramanian. Fuelling the Recovery. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/publications/fuelling-recovery-india-subsidies-help-indonesia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Viswanathan, |first1=Tara Laan,Anissa Suharsono,Balasubramanian |title=Fuelling the Recovery |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=19 April 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/fuelling-recovery-india-subsidies-help-indonesia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{viswanathan2021fuelling, author = {Viswanathan,, Tara Laan,Anissa Suharsono,Balasubramanian}, title = {{Fuelling the Recovery}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/fuelling-recovery-india-subsidies-help-indonesia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }