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All European countries provide fuel subsidies to their fisheries sector in one form or another. Those subsidies consist mostly of fuel tax exemptions, but there are also some other state aid and support schemes that play a role in reducing fuel costs for the fishing industry. This report analyses fuel subsidies and the impact it has on fish stocks and the fisheries sector in the EU. It is well documented that by reducing operating costs and thus enhancing fishing effort, fuel subsidies are increasing the fishing pressure on the target species and related species (e.g.

The Tasmanian forestry industries has received more than A$630 million in direct and indirect subsidies from 1997 to 2008. The study also found that despite the huge taxpayer funded subsides, which were intended to create jobs, that there have been steady job losses over the same period.  The authors advocate a commercially-based industry, and that Forestry Tasmania deliver a commercial rate of return.

Detailed look at the hierarchy of subsidies within the US federal government, using the analogy of Dante's Inferno.  A great summary when the article first appeared in the mid-1990s, and the core issues raised sadly remain as central challenges today. The paper does cite some of my earliest work on energy subsidies, a detailed review of federal subsidies to all forms of energy. The paper and appendices were published by the Alliance to Save Energy, a DC-based NGO in 1993.

Consumer subsidies to oil consumption depress the visible price of fossil fuels to end users, and with it their incentive to substitute alternative fuels or conservation.  Understanding which countries mute price adjustments in oil products, and to what degree, is important in mapping out the options and trade-offs for reform.

Rapid and dramatic changes in the world’s approach to energy have major implications for Kentucky and its coal industry. Concerns about climate change are driving policy that favors cleaner energy sources and increases the price of fossil fuels. The transition to sustainable forms of energy is becoming a major economic driver, and states are moving aggressively to develop, produce and install the energy technologies of the future. Long reliant on coal for jobs and electricity, Kentucky faces major challenges and difficult choices in the coming years.

The World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2009 provides the reader with the basic quantitative and qualitative facts on the nuclear power plants in operation, under construction and in planning phases throughout the world.

Patterns of energy production and use threaten the stability of eco-systems and the health and well-being of current and future generations. Still, energy subsidies worldwide amount to around USD 300.000 billion per year, or around 0.7 per cent of GDP.

Inappropriate subsidies contribute to widespread overfishing and to the distortion of trade in fisheries products. Current negotiations in the World Trade organization aim to address this problem through binding new subsidies rules. Meanwhile, many governments are working to reform their domestic fisheries subsidies programmes. But some fisheries subsidies will undoubtedly continue to be used for years to come. In this context, a knowledge of the policies and practices that can reduce the risks associated with these subsidies is critically important.

Somewhere in Germany, a trucker is thanking you. A biofuel executive is cursing you. You probably don’’t know it, but you paid $1 for each gallon of the Brazilian biodiesel fuel blend the trucker is using. The fuel-maker is upset because your generous contribution is driving down the price at which he can sell his product.

For their elation and disgust, for your impoverishment, and probably for some harm to the environment as well, you can blame the United States Congress. This all results from yet another misguided attempt to manipulate economic behavior through the tax code...