Shifting Public Money out of Fossil Fuels

The document examines the scale of public money supporting fossil fuels in G20 countries and presents case studies of reforms to align these flows with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. It highlights the use of consumption and production subsidy removals, increased taxation, and the diversification of state-owned enterprise investments. The paper argues that shifting these resources can create fiscal space for social protection, health, and clean energy, while recommending that G20 nations adopt ambitious reform timelines and protect vulnerable groups during the transition.

• G20 governments continue to provide substantial public support for fossil fuels despite international commitments. In 2014, fossil fuel consumption subsidies in the G20 amounted to USD 354 billion, while national subsidies for production were estimated at an annual average of at least USD 70 billion in 2013/14.
• Indonesia provides a case of successful consumption subsidy reform, saving USD 15.6 billion in 2015 by removing untargeted subsidies for gasoline and diesel. These savings were reinvested into infrastructure, clean water access, housing for low-income groups, and health insurance.
• The European Union has committed to phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies by 2020. In Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic, between 75% and 99% of support for the hard coal sector was used for decommissioning mining sites and enabling a just transition for workers and communities.
• Public financial institutions, including multilateral development banks, provided an annual average of USD 72 billion for fossil fuels globally from 2013 to 2015, though there has been a decrease in finance for certain fuels, particularly coal.
• State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Sweden, India, and China have begun diversifying their activities into renewables, although the International Energy Agency reports that SOEs are generally increasing their role in fossil fuel investment worldwide.
• India utilized a Clean Energy Cess on coal and lignite dispatch from FY 2010/11 until 2017 to partially fund the viability gap for renewable energy technologies, though the cess was scrapped in 2017.
• The removal of fossil fuel subsidies could significantly reduce emissions; simulating the global removal of subsidies for the extraction of oil, gas, and coal suggests a potential saving of 37 Gt of emissions by 2050.

APA

Gerasimchuk, I., Whitley, S., Beaton, C., Bridle, R., Doukas, A., Di Paola, M. M., & Touchette, Y. (2018). Shifting Public Money out of Fossil Fuels. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/stories-g20-shifting-public-money-out-fossil-fuels-en.pdf

Chicago

Gerasimchuk, Ivetta, Shelagh Whitley, Christopher Beaton, Richard Bridle, Alex Doukas, Maria Marta Di Paola, and Yanick Touchette. Shifting Public Money out of Fossil Fuels. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/stories-g20-shifting-public-money-out-fossil-fuels-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gerasimchuk |first1=Ivetta |last2=Whitley |first2=Shelagh |last3=Beaton |first3=Christopher |last4=Bridle |first4=Richard |last5=Doukas |first5=Alex |last6=Di Paola |first6=Maria Marta |last7=Touchette |first7=Yanick |title=Shifting Public Money out of Fossil Fuels |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=November 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/stories-g20-shifting-public-money-out-fossil-fuels-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gerasimchuk2018shifting, author = {Gerasimchuk, Ivetta and Whitley, Shelagh and Beaton, Christopher and Bridle, Richard and Doukas, Alex and Di Paola, Maria Marta and Touchette, Yanick}, title = {{Shifting Public Money out of Fossil Fuels}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/stories-g20-shifting-public-money-out-fossil-fuels-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }