“Reforming energy subsidies: opportunities to contribute to the climate agenda” – UNEP Report

Citation

(2009), "“Reforming energy subsidies: opportunities to contribute to the climate agenda” – UNEP Report", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 1 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2009.41401aae.002

“Reforming energy subsidies: opportunities to contribute to the climate agenda” – UNEP Report

“Reforming energy subsidies: opportunities to contribute to the climate agenda” – UNEP Report

Article Type: Books and resources From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 1, Issue 1

This report highlights that scrapping fossil fuel subsidies could play an important role in cutting greenhouse gases while giving a small but not insignificant boost to the global economy. The report challenges the widely held view that such subsidies assist the poor, and argues that many of these price support systems benefit the wealthier sections of society rather than those on low incomes. It is also suggested that these subsidies are diverting national funds from more creative forms of pro-poor policies and initiatives that are likely to have a far greater impact on the lives and livelihoods of the worse-off sectors of society.

The report does, however, acknowledge that some subsidies or mechanisms, whether in the form of tax breaks, financial incentives or other market instruments can generate social, economic and environmental benefits, and accepts that there may be cases where some subsidies can (if well-devised and time-limited) meet important social and environmental goals. It is available at: www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID = 543&ArticleID = 5902&l = en