The Politics of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Their Reform

Asselt, Harro van

doi:10.1017/9781108241946.003

Cited by 41 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…As a consequence, we do not discuss a series of other important issues related to fossil fuel subsidies, such as their climate and environmental impacts, the role of the global trade regime in addressing fossil fuel subsidies, etc. See Skovgaard and van Asselt (2018) for analytical and conceptual analysis on other relevant topics related to fossil fuel subsidies. 6.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Income Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence From Developing Countries

Couharde

Mouhoud

2020

Journal of Economic Surveys

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The past two decades have witnessed widespread attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies in developing countries. If the reforms are likely to improve economic efficiency, the expected effects on income distribution and poverty are more controversial. This paper reviews the recent literature that examines the impacts of fossil fuel subsidies and their reforms on income inequality and poverty in developing countries. It identifies the different channels that have been explored in the literature and surveys the empirical evidence on the importance of these channels in practice. Drawing on diverse country experiences, it also discusses why fossil fuel subsidies are particularly challenging to reform and highlights several ways in which efforts to reform may be feasible and successful.

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Income Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence From Developing Countries

Couharde

Mouhoud

2020

Journal of Economic Surveys

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“…There are also many examples of making climate mitigation pro poor 16 , especially with regard to removal of subsidies for fossil fuels 17 . In addition to studies of taxes and subsidies in developed countries, the politics of reform efforts in developing regions has been widely researched 18 . However, climate change researchers have rarely considered equality at the household level in China, and this needs to be explored and analysed 19 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Economic development and converging household carbon footprints in China

et al. 2020

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There are substantial differences in carbon footprints across households. This study applied an environmentally extended multiregional input-output (MRIO) approach to estimate household carbon footprints for 12 different income groups of China's 30 regions. Subsequently, carbon footprint Gini coefficients were calculated to measure carbon inequality for households across provinces. We found that the top 5% of income earners were responsible for 17% of the national household carbon footprints in 2012, while the bottom half of income earners caused only 25%. Carbon inequality declined with economic growth in China across space and time in two ways: first, carbon footprints were more similar in the wealthier coastal regions than in the poorer inland regions; second, China's national carbon footprint Gini coefficients declined from 0.44 in 2007 to 0.37 in 2012. We argue that economic growth not only increases income levels but also contributes to an overall reduction in carbon inequality in China.

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“…The existing literature has identified several factors driving fossil fuel subsidies and, conversely, possibilities to reform them. Following Skovgaard and van Asselt (), we identify three broad factors. The first factor concerns the interests, strategies and organization of actors—including both individuals and organizations—that have sought to promote reform or to keep subsidies in place.…”

Section: The Domestic Politics Of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Their Reformmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the climate benefits of reforming fossil fuel subsidies may be considerable (Jewell et al, ), this study explains that the politics of fossil fuel subsidy reform do not necessarily align with traditional climate politics. A mix of domestic political, economic, and social factors underlies fossil fuel subsidies' persistence, as well as chances of their reform (Skovgaard & van Asselt, ). Existing studies on the politics of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform have provided insights into how fossil fuel subsidies are tied up with the domestic political economy of fossil fuel production and consumption (Cheon, Lackner, & Urpelainen, ; Cheon, Urpelainen, & Lackner, ; Inchauste & Victor, ; Overland, ; Victor, ), but also international norms and institutions can promote subsidy reform (Skovgaard, ; Smith & Urpelainen, ; Van de Graaf & Blondeel, ; Van de Graaf & van Asselt, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The politics of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform: Implications for climate change mitigation

Skovgaard

Asselt

2019

WIREs Climate Change

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The production and consumption of fossil fuels need to decrease significantly to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement's ambitious climate change goals. However, fossil fuels continue to receive significant amounts of government support. Although reforming fossil fuel subsidies can yield climate change mitigation benefits, the specific international and domestic political context and political economy of fossil fuel subsidies means that such reform is not straightforward and may not be aligned with traditional climate politics. Our objective in this review article is to examine the implications of the politics of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform for climate change mitigation. The first step of examining these implications is to review existing studies on the size and impacts of global fossil fuel subsidies. Subsequently, we discuss the international politics of fossil fuel subsidies, including the emerging norm of fossil fuel subsidy reform, and the respective roles played by the international climate regime and several international economic institutions. Finally, we examine why fossil fuel subsidies are introduced and maintained at the domestic level, how fossil fuel subsidy reform has functioned in practice, and whether and how such reform could be conceived as an instrument for climate policy. This article is categorized under: The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Policies, Instruments, Lifestyles, Behavior Policy and Governance > Private Governance of Climate Change

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The Politics of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Their Reform

Cited by 41 publications

References 44 publications

Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Income Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence From Developing Countries

Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Income Inequality, and Poverty: Evidence From Developing Countries

Economic development and converging household carbon footprints in China

The politics of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform: Implications for climate change mitigation

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