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

The text examines the governance of fossil fuel subsidies, noting that while institutional fragmentation across climate, trade, and economic regimes creates coordination challenges, it allows for multiple rationales to drive reform. It argues that because legally binding disciplines have largely failed to capture these subsidies, a system of informal international law—based on voluntary commitments and transparency efforts—has become significant. To increase the effectiveness of this governance complex, the author suggests clarifying the definition and measurement of subsidies and expanding transparency to more countries.

• The governance of fossil fuel subsidies is fragmented across various international legal regimes (climate change and trade), informal coalitions (Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform), and economic organizations (OECD and IMF), which provides the advantage of using multiple rationales to drive reform despite coordination challenges.
• Fossil fuel subsidies generally fall outside legally binding international disciplines; trade regimes have largely failed to capture them, and climate regimes rely primarily on the voluntary inclusion of reform in nationally determined contributions.
• The governance of fossil fuel subsidies is increasingly characterized by informal international law, including voluntary commitments and transparency through reporting and review, which can be influential in complex governance scenarios.

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} }