This is the second detailed report on fossil fuel subsidies prepared by the assigned agencies to support the G20 subsidy phase-out commitment. It was prepared to support the November 2010 meeting of the G20 in South Korea. The report estimates the scope of fossil-fuel subsidies in 2009 and…
Earth Track presentation on fossil fuel subsidy reform at a joint meeting hosted by the Global Subsidies Initiative of the IISD and the United Nations Environment Programme in Geneva in October 2010, titled Increasing the Momentum of Fossil-Fuel Subsidy Reform: Developments and Opportunities. The…
Molly F. Sherlock, U.S. Congressional Research Service
Posted on:
12/9/2010
By providing a longitudinal perspective on energy tax policy and expenditures, this report examines how current revenue losses resulting from energy tax provisions compare to historical losses and provides a foundation for understanding how current energy tax policy evolved. Further, this report…
Doug Koplow with contributions from Steve Kretzmann
Posted on:
11/9/2010
In its September 2009 Communiqué from Pittsburgh, the G20 nations (“Group of Twenty” nations that include the largest economies in the world) committed to “rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption.”
International Energy Agency, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and The World Bank
Posted on:
10/5/2010
This joint report to the G20 Finance Ministers and Leaders was issued by the IEA, OPEC, OECD and World Bank in response to a request by G20 Leaders when they met in Pittsburgh in September 2009. At that time, leaders agreed to “rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel…
Doug Koplow, Cynthia Lin, Anna Jung, Michael Thöne, Lucky Lontoh
Posted on:
9/2/2010
The ability to undertake any meaningful subsidy reforms, either nationally or multilaterally, is hampered by a basic lack of knowledge about the extent of support to the sector and where information on this support might be held. This multi-country research effort identifying and classifying…
DOE has taken steps to implement the Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) for applicants but has treated applicants inconsistently and lacks mechanisms to identify and address their concerns. Among other things, DOE increased the LGP’s staff, expedited procurement of external reviews, and developed…
This document is addressed primarily to those individuals who are interested in preparing estimates of subsidies to particular products or sectors—people who engage in what might be called “subsidy accounting.” Unlike financial accounting for the business sector, or public-sector accounting for…
Fiu Elisara Mata'ese, Almuth Ernsting, Diego Alejandro Cardona, Wally Menne
Posted on:
7/30/2010
Adapted from the report's introduction:
The European Union (EU) recently admitted that agro-fuels might be as much as four times more damaging to the climate than conventional fuels due to their indirect impacts. Still, such indirect impacts are being ignored in EU policies. Promoting woody bio…
Thomas Walker, Peter Cardellichio, Andrea Colnes, John Gunn, Brian Kittler, Bob Perschel, Chris Recchia, David Saah
Posted on:
7/27/2010
This study addresses a wide array of scientific, economic and technological issues related to the use of forest biomass for generating energy in Massachusetts. Appendix 1 of the report also contains and detailed and very useful summary of federal and state- or regional-level subsidies to biomass…
Since its inception fifteen years ago, the Green Scissors Campaign has fought to make environmental and fiscal responsibility a priority in Washington. By eliminating subsidies and programs that both harm the environment and waste taxpayer dollars, the federal government can protect our natural…
The federal government supports the use of biofuels—transportation fuel produced usually from renewable plant matter, such as corn—in the pursuit of national energy, environmental, and agricultural policy goals. Tax credits encourage the production and sale of biofuels in the United States…
The two largest offshore drilling companies in the world, Transocation and Noble Corporation, are in reality headquartered in the Houston area but moved their legal domiciles first to the Cayman Islands and then to Switzerland to avoid U.S. tax. Calculations shown below indicate that those…
Use of biofuels does not reduce emissions from energy combustion but may offset emissions by increasing plant growth or by reducing plant residue or other non-energy emissions. To do so, biofuel production must generate and use ‘additional carbon’, which means carbon that plants would not otherwise…
Rory McIlmoil, Evan Hansen,Ted Boettner, and Paul Miller
Posted on:
7/7/2010
In this report, we examine the net impact of the coal industry on the West Virginia state budget by compiling data on and estimating both the tax revenues and the expenditures attributable to the industry for Fiscal Year 2009: July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. In calculating these estimates, there…
Although coal has played an important historical role, the Tennessee coal industry now provides few jobs to state residents, and does not provide significant revenues to the state budget. In fact, as estimated in this report, the industry itself—together with its direct and indirect employees…
This memo evaluates three tax subsidies to nuclear power contained in the American Power Act (APA): 5-year accelerated depreciation for reactors; a 10% investment tax credit; and an expansion of a production tax credit for nuclear. The draft Act was floated by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph…
US Environmental Protection Agency, State Clean Energy and Environment Technical Forum
Posted on:
5/11/2010
Through its focus on incentives for the coal industry, this document provides one of the best summaries we've seen on subsidies to coal gasification, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology, and associated carbon capture and storage (CCS) methods. Of particular merit are the state…
This report summarizes the Climate Policy Initiative Workshop, hosted at DIW Berlin, that took place in November 2009.
At their meeting in Pittsburgh in September 2009, G20 Leaders called for an additional evidence base to support efforts by the member nations to reform and remove fossil fuel…