Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding

G20 governments provided an annual average of $584 billion in support for fossil fuels from 2017 to 2019, with oil and gas production receiving the largest share. While overall support dropped by 9% compared to 2014–2016, this decline was inconsistent across countries and partly driven by lower oil prices. The report finds that state-owned enterprise (SOE) investment is the only support mechanism that increased overall, and that COVID-19 recovery packages have introduced at least $170 billion in new commitments to fossil fuel-intensive sectors, threatening to undo previous progress.

• Between 2017 and 2019, G20 governments provided an annual average of $584 billion in support for fossil fuel production and consumption. The largest portion of this support, $277 billion (47%), was directed toward oil and gas production.
• Total G20 government support decreased by 9% relative to the 2014–2016 average, but this trend was not uniform. Seven countries—Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Russia, and South Africa—actually increased their support during this period, and approximately one-third of the overall decrease is attributed to falling oil prices.
• From January 1 to August 12, 2020, G20 countries committed at least $170 billion in public money to fossil fuel-intensive sectors (mobility, resources, power, and buildings) as part of COVID-19 recovery efforts. Only 16% of these commitments were conditional on environmental requirements.
• State-owned enterprise (SOE) investment is the most significant form of support, accounting for 44% ($257 billion annually) of total G20 support. It is the only support mechanism that increased overall, rising by 4.6% compared to the 2014–2016 average.
• There is a distinct divide in support mechanisms between OECD and non-OECD G20 members. OECD countries primarily use tax expenditures (39% of their total support), while non-OECD countries rely most heavily on SOE investment (52% of their total support).
• Transparency regarding fossil fuel support is poor across the G20, with nearly half of the countries scoring as 'poor' or 'opaque'. Only six countries—Canada, Germany, the United States, China, India, and Indonesia—have officially reported providing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
• No G20 country achieved a high score on the progress scorecard; Germany had the highest overall score at 71/100. Among OECD members, Turkey, Mexico, and the United Kingdom scored the lowest (48/100), while among non-OECD members, Saudi Arabia scored the lowest (43/100).
• Public finance for fossil fuels decreased by 32% relative to 2014–2016, but this was largely due to a 2016 spike of $44 billion from China rather than a systemic decline. China, Canada, Japan, and the Republic of Korea remain the largest providers of this support.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2020). Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-report.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding. 2020. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2020doubling, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{Doubling Back and Doubling Down: G20 scorecard on fossil fuel funding}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2020-11/g20-scorecard-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }