Achieving a Fossil-Free Recovery

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that COVID-19 recovery spending provides a critical opportunity to shift public finance away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. The proposed blueprint includes stopping public funding for fossil fuel production, reforming subsidies and implementing taxes to raise an estimated USD 553 billion annually, and incentivizing private investment in clean electricity. The framework emphasizes a just transition involving dialogue between workers, employers, and governments to ensure no one is left behind during the energy transition.

• G20 governments have provided significant public funding to fossil fuels, including at least USD 295 billion as part of COVID-19 recovery packages as of June 2021, on top of an annual average of USD 584 billion spent outside of recovery spending between 2017 and 2019.
• Governments could raise at least USD 553 billion globally per year through fossil fuel subsidy reform (FFSR) and taxes, specifically by reforming subsidies for gasoline, diesel, and coal for power generation, and adding a global tax of USD 12.5 ct/litre for gasoline and diesel and USD 5 per tonne of coal.
• The potential annual revenue of USD 553 billion from FFSR and taxation would cover a vast majority of the investment needed for several key energy transition goals: almost 90% for solar photovoltaic and wind energy, almost 60% for energy efficiency in buildings, over four times the need for electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and over 12 times the investment required for universal energy access.
• To transition to clean electricity, 70% of the required investment must come from private sources, meaning the government's primary role is to de-risk and leverage these investments through renewable subsidies, mandates for public finance institutions to address country-specific risks, and transitioning state-owned enterprises away from fossil fuels.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (n.d.). Achieving a Fossil-Free Recovery. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/achieving-ff-recovery-V3_0.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Achieving a Fossil-Free Recovery. n.d. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/achieving-ff-recovery-V3_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Achieving a Fossil-Free Recovery |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/achieving-ff-recovery-V3_0.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopmentndachieving, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Achieving a Fossil-Free Recovery}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-07/achieving-ff-recovery-V3_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }