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Submission to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Consultation on Non-Tax Fossil Fuel Subsidies
The IISD argues that Canada's current draft framework for assessing non-tax fossil fuel subsidies is too restrictive and lacks transparency. It recommends adopting the World Trade Organization (WTO) definition of subsidies, removing qualifiers like 'specificity' and 'normality', and aligning the 'inefficiency' criteria with Canada's Paris Agreement commitments. The document emphasizes the need for full public disclosure of subsidy data, coordination with Finance Canada on tax-related measures, and the inclusion of provincial and territorial jurisdictions to meet the G7's 2025 phase-out deadline.
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Document type: Report
The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario's fossil fuel subsidies
Ontario provides nearly CAD 700 million annually in public subsidies for fossil fuel consumption, with the largest portions consisting of tax exemptions for aviation, rail, and agricultural fuels, as well as direct spending on natural gas expansion. The report argues these subsidies represent foregone revenue and encourage pollution, recommending a transparent self-review, a phase-out action plan, and strict guidelines for any new subsidies to facilitate a transition to a clean economy.
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Document type: Report
Fossil Fuel Subsidies: A Closer Look at Tax Breaks and Societal Costs
The report details various direct and indirect U.S. tax subsidies for coal, oil, and natural gas, alongside federal R&D funding and overseas financing. It highlights that global fossil fuel subsidies, including negative externalities, reached $5.2 trillion in 2017. The authors argue that these subsidies are difficult to justify given the maturity of the industry and the severe health, environmental, and climate externalities—such as the social cost of carbon and air pollution deaths—that are not reflected in fuel prices.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Written Evidence Treasury Select Committee Inquiry into Decarbonisation of the UK Economy and Green Finance
ClientEarth argues that HM Treasury (HMT) is an obstacle to ambitious climate policy and lacks transparency in its coordination with other departments. The submission calls for a 'Climate Cabinet' and a parallel climate budget to ensure legal targets are met. In the financial sector, ClientEarth highlights a widespread failure among pension funds and asset managers to treat climate change as a material financial risk, noting a 'herd mentality' that stifles innovation. It criticises the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for a lack of enforcement regarding climate risk disclosures and warns of 'greenwash' in sustainable financial products. The document recommends mandatory TCFD reporting for large asset owners by 2022 and the regulation of investment consultants by the FCA.
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Document type: Statement
India's Energy Transition: Subsidies for gasoline, diesel and electric vehicles
The document highlights a disparity in India's energy transition funding, noting that fuel price cuts for gasoline and diesel between October 2018 and June 2019 cost the government significantly more than the budget for its flagship electric vehicle program.
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Document type: Briefing
Raising Ambition Through Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: Greenhouse gas emissions results modelling from 26 countries
The paper finds that removing fossil fuel subsidies across 26 modeled countries leads to an average 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which increases to 13.2% if combined with a 10% energy tax and reinvestment in renewables and energy efficiency. Globally, the removal of these subsidies is estimated to reduce emissions by 6.4% to 8.2% by 2050. The study highlights that governments save an average of USD 93 for every tonne of CO2e removed through subsidy reform, with total cumulative fiscal savings across the 26 countries reaching USD 2.56 trillion by 2030.
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Document type: Research paper
Más allá de los combustibles fósiles: Transición fiscal en México
The document analyzes the fiscal dynamics of fossil fuels in Mexico, noting a decline in extraction revenues and an increase in consumption revenues. It argues for a cost-benefit analysis of continued fossil fuel reliance versus renewable alternatives and calls for increased transparency in hydrocarbon and coal revenues. The report warns against regressive generalized subsidies and highlights the tension between the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's goal to increase oil extraction for energy security and the resulting environmental and social challenges.
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Document type: Report
Fossil Fuel Subsidies
The document details various direct and indirect U.S. tax subsidies for coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as federal R&D funding and overseas financing. It highlights the contradiction between these subsidies and global climate targets, noting that global fossil fuel subsidies reached $5.2 trillion in 2017. The text also analyzes the 'externalities' of fossil fuels, including the social cost of carbon, public health crises, and environmental degradation, while reviewing legislative efforts in the 116th Congress to reform energy tax credits.
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Document type: Fact sheet
The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario’s fossil fuel subsidies
In 2018/19, Ontario provided nearly CAD 700 million in public subsidies for fossil fuel consumption, primarily through tax exemptions for aviation, rail, and agriculture, and spending on natural gas expansion. The report argues that these subsidies represent foregone revenue that could be redirected toward education, healthcare, and job training, while hindering the transition to a clean economy. It recommends that Ontario undertake a transparent self-review of all fossil fuel subsidies, develop a phase-out action plan, and establish guidelines to prevent new subsidies that are inconsistent with a low-carbon economy.
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Document type: Executive summary
Tackling Coal-Driven Air Pollution in China and India
The report analyzes how China and India are tackling coal-driven air pollution through stricter emission standards, renewable energy subsidies, and improved air quality monitoring, contrasting these efforts with Indonesia's current policy landscape. It highlights that while China and India are shifting toward renewables and implementing rigorous coal plant standards, Indonesia continues to expand its coal capacity and maintains more lenient emission limits and scarce air quality data.
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Document type: Report
India Energy Subsidy July 2019 Update
The document details recent Indian government interventions in the energy sector, including a reduction in fuel excise duties to counter high oil prices and the launch of significant funding for solar power and electric vehicles. It also addresses the financial distress of electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) and the legal rulings regarding stressed coal-fired power plants.
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Document type: Briefing
India’s Energy Transition
The document analyzes the tension between India's push for electric vehicle (EV) adoption and its continued support for fossil fuels. While the government has significantly increased EV funding through the FAME II scheme, it simultaneously provided substantial price support for petrol and diesel in 2018-2019 to counter rising oil prices. The authors argue that these fuel subsidies undermine the energy transition and that the environmental benefits of EVs will only be fully realized as India decarbonizes its coal-heavy electricity grid.
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Document type: Briefing
The (Public) Cost of Pollution: Ontario’s fossil fuel subsidies
The report identifies that Ontario provided nearly CAD 700 million in public subsidies for fossil fuel consumption in 2018/19. These primarily consist of tax exemptions for aviation, railway, and agricultural fuels, as well as direct spending on natural gas infrastructure. The authors argue that these subsidies distort the market and hinder climate goals, recommending a transparent provincial self-review to identify more sustainable alternatives for energy affordability and industry competitiveness.
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Document type: Report
G20 Coal Subsidies: Russia
The document identifies that the Russian government provides significant support for coal mining and the infrastructure required for exports. It serves as a baseline for tracking the phase-out of coal subsidies within the context of a global energy transition and acts as a background paper to a broader report on G20 coal subsidies.
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Document type: Briefing
Businesses, Investors, Cities, States and Regions come together to call on National Governments to Deliver New Ambitious Climate Action at the UN Climate Action Summit 2019
The statement urges national governments to align their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the IPCC 1.5°C report, specifically calling for peaking emissions by 2020 and reaching net zero by 2050. It highlights the existing commitments of non-state actors—including over 900 companies, 9,000 cities, and hundreds of investors—as evidence that a zero-carbon transition is possible. The signatories demand specific policy interventions, including carbon pricing between US$40-100/tCO2-e by 2030, the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, and the implementation of TCFD financial reporting recommendations by 2020.
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Document type: Statement
G20 Coal Subsidies: Tracking government support to a fading industry
The report tracks G20 nations' efforts to phase out coal subsidies, finding that despite a 2009 commitment, these governments continue to spend at least USD 63.9 billion annually on coal and have failed to fully document the extent of this support.
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Document type: Report
Mining for a Circular Economy in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Case of South Africa
The document argues that while a low-carbon future requires increased mining of specific minerals, South Africa must shift away from coal dependence toward a 'green industrialisation' strategy. It highlights how Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies can make mining less invasive and create new value chains in renewable energy components, while warning that automation and the abandonment of fossil fuels will necessitate large-scale worker reskilling to avoid social upheaval.
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Document type: Policy brief
Fossil Fuel to Clean Energy Subsidy Swaps
The report advocates for "subsidy swaps," where governments redirect financial support from fossil fuels to clean energy (renewables and energy efficiency). It argues that while removing fossil fuel subsidies alone can reduce emissions, swapping those funds into clean energy magnifies long-term climate benefits and supports a "just transition" for workers and communities. The document provides evidence from India, Indonesia, Zambia, and Morocco to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach and suggests that governments should focus on large-scale on-grid renewables and leveraging private finance to maximize impact.
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Document type: Report
Más allá de los combustibles fósiles
The document analyzes Mexico's fiscal dependence on fossil fuels amidst declining reserves and production. It highlights a shift where revenues from fuel consumption (IEPS and IVA) are becoming more significant than extraction revenues. The report warns against 'stranded assets' resulting from continued investment in fossil fuel infrastructure and recommends redirecting regressive subsidies toward clean energy and vulnerable populations to support a just energy transition.
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Document type: Report
Risks, barriers and responses to Indonesia's biogas development
The document assesses the viability of biogas in Indonesia through two pathways: a low-cost household-scale option for cooking and lighting, and a high-investment large-scale option for electricity production. While biogas offers significant GHG mitigation potential—estimated at 6.4 million tons CO2/year for small digesters and 2.6 GW for large-scale production—its development is hindered by a lack of government priority, high initial investment costs, and competing fossil fuel subsidies. The report identifies critical risks including inadequate monitoring of household systems, bureaucratic distribution, and the unreliability of biogas-fuelled power plants. It recommends that the Indonesian government formulate clear renewable energy targets, strengthen monitoring standards, and introduce favorable feed-in tariffs to incentivize private investment.
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Document type: Briefing