The International Governance of Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Testing Ground for the Fragmentation and Deformalisation of International Law

This research paper chapter examines the fragmented international governance of fossil fuel subsidies, arguing that while the lack of legally binding disciplines creates coordination challenges, the use of multiple institutional rationales and informal international law can still drive reform.

• The governance of fossil fuel subsidies is characterized by institutional fragmentation involving a variety of entities, including international legal regimes for trade and climate change, international economic organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and informal coalitions such as the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform. This fragmentation allows different institutions to promote reform using multiple rationales, despite potential coordination difficulties.
• Fossil fuel subsidies generally fall outside of legally binding international disciplines. The international trade regime's existing subsidy disciplines have largely failed to address them, and the climate change regime has primarily seen the voluntary inclusion of subsidy reform within some countries' 'nationally determined contributions'. Consequently, governance is increasingly defined by informal international law, focusing on voluntary commitments and transparency through review, reporting, and measurement.
• While informal international law can have a significant impact in complex governance scenarios, the author suggests that the overall influence of the institutional complex could be strengthened by extending transparency and commitments to more countries and by clarifying how fossil fuel subsidies are measured and defined.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). The International Governance of Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Testing Ground for the Fragmentation and Deformalisation of International Law. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-international-governance-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies-as-testing-ground-for-the-fragmentation-and-deformalisation-of-international-law/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The International Governance of Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Testing Ground for the Fragmentation and Deformalisation of International Law. 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-international-governance-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies-as-testing-ground-for-the-fragmentation-and-deformalisation-of-international-law/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The International Governance of Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Testing Ground for the Fragmentation and Deformalisation of International Law |date=17 August 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-international-governance-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies-as-testing-ground-for-the-fragmentation-and-deformalisation-of-international-law/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021international, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The International Governance of Fossil Fuel Subsidies as Testing Ground for the Fragmentation and Deformalisation of International Law}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-international-governance-of-fossil-fuel-subsidies-as-testing-ground-for-the-fragmentation-and-deformalisation-of-international-law/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }