A Guidebook to Reviews of Fossil Fuel Subsidies

The executive summary outlines a framework for countries to conduct voluntary self- and peer reviews of fossil fuel subsidies (FFS). It describes the 'building blocks' of these reviews—including scope, definition, measurement, and evaluation—and provides practical recommendations based on the experiences of countries such as China, Finland, New Zealand, Peru, and Sweden. The guide emphasizes that these reviews are tools for peer learning and domestic reform rather than compliance mechanisms, aiming to align subsidies with sustainable development and international commitments like those of the G7, G20, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Fossil fuel subsidies (FFS) have a global annual value of at least USD 425 billion and are characterized as being economically inefficient, socially regressive, environmentally harmful, and fiscally burdensome.
• Between 2014 and 2016, more than 50 countries, including Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine, either increased or removed government controls on fossil fuel prices, which helped create fiscal space for development funding and debt repayment.
• International bodies and groupings have established commitments to phase out inefficient FFS. The G7 committed to phasing out such subsidies by 2025, while EU Member States under the Europe 2020 Strategy committed to developing plans to phase out environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020.
• FFS reviews are voluntary, country-owned processes rather than compliance mechanisms. They consist of five combinable elements: defining the scope, identifying and defining the subsidies, measurement and description, evaluation, and determining next steps.
• Successful FFS reviews require significant government investment, including at least six months of time, multidisciplinary collaboration across agencies, and technical expertise. For developing economies, the success of these reviews often depends on donor assistance.

APA

Gerasimchuk, I., Wooders, P., Merrill, L., Sanchez, L., & Kitson, L. (2017). A Guidebook to Reviews of Fossil Fuel Subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/guidebook-reviews-fossil-fuels-subsidies-executive-summary.pdf

Chicago

Gerasimchuk, Ivetta, Peter Wooders, Laura Merrill, Lourdes Sanchez, and Lucy Kitson. A Guidebook to Reviews of Fossil Fuel Subsidies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2017. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/guidebook-reviews-fossil-fuels-subsidies-executive-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{gerasimchuk2017guidebook, author = {Gerasimchuk, Ivetta and Wooders, Peter and Merrill, Laura and Sanchez, Lourdes and Kitson, Lucy}, title = {{A Guidebook to Reviews of Fossil Fuel Subsidies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/guidebook-reviews-fossil-fuels-subsidies-executive-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }