Industry-specific reviews of government subsidies have been much more common than analyses examining several natural resource sectors at once. Yet there is a great deal of overlap across sectors. Indeed, it is the combination of support provided by multiple levels of government and government…
The removal of fossil fuel subsidies (FFS) would bring about many important and positive effects, among them helping to reduce air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change and improving government’s finances. It could also reduce distortions affecting trade in not only…
Multinational firms often use complicated corporate structures and arcane provisions of the tax code to minimize or eliminate their global tax payments. Arcane changes in tax rules can give rise to big losses in tax revenues to country treasuries, as happened in the 2017 tax law passed under the…
The author examined support by provincial and federal governments in Canada to three major pipeline projects, none of which has been completed to date. At least eight different types of financial support measures provided for Trans Mountain, two for Keystone XL, and two for Coastal GasLink…
In the third edition of PennFuture’s Fossil Fuel Subsidy Report, the authors quantify Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel subsidies in a step-by-step analysis of three subsidy types. Part One reviews Forgone Revenues including the underpricing of government-owned resources, tax credits, and tax subsidies…
The United States has supported the development of its oil and gas industry since the early twentieth century. Despite repeated pledges to phase out 'inefficient' fossil fuel subsidies, US oil and gas production continues to be subsidized by billions of dollars each year. In this study, we quantify…
Harvard has the largest university endowment in the world. Its investments are run by the affiliated Harvard Management Company (HMC), which operates under the Treasurer of the University and the Harvard Corporation. The University has committed that the endowment will be net zero greenhouse gas…
Yuki Matsumoto, Taku Nemoto, Jehan Sauvage, and Christian Steidl,
Posted on:
7/12/2021
The support that governments provide to their industrial producers has been a growing source of concern. Much of that support is provided by governments through the financial system, either in the form of below‑market borrowings or below-market equity. To better understand the nature and scale of…
This analysis looks at the last two decades of investment data for US oil and gas fields to evaluate how major federal subsidies may have played a role in the huge boom in US oil and gas production. It finds that federal subsidies amplified the expected financial returns of investing in…
Harvard Management Company (HMC), which manages Harvard University’s nearly $42 billion endowment, released its first Climate Report in February 2021. As the largest university endowment in the world, decisions Harvard makes to tangibly and materially reduce the climate impact of its investments…
The Biden Administration’s commitment to identify and remove fossil fuel subsidies (Section 209 in the January 27, 2021 Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) offers a great deal of promise. Realizing the potential environmental gains implied by Section 209 will not be…
Geoffrey Supran, Peter Erickson, Doug Koplow, Michael Lazarus, Peter Newell, Naomi Oreskes, Harro van Asselt
Posted on:
7/8/2020
When it comes to tackling the climate crisis, ending $400 billion of annual subsidies to the fossil-fuel industry worldwide seems like a no-brainer. For the past decade, world leaders have been resolving and reaffirming the need to phase them out. All of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates…
In an effort to response to the widespread health and economic issues associated with the coronavirus pandemic, Congress has been working on legislative responses. This is the second major stimulus bill, an initiative led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The bill provides roughly $1…
Export credit agencies are little-known government-backed financial institutions that provide loans, guarantees, and insurance with the aim of supporting exports of goods or services from their country to outside markets. This report from Oil Change International and Friends of the Earth U.S. shows…
This report addresses the necessary winding down of the world’s production of fossil fuels in order to meet climate goals. Though coal, oil, and gas are the central drivers of climate change, they are rarely the subject of international climate policy and negotiations. This report aims to expand…
This working paper identifies some of the major gaps in Harvard’s existing reporting on the climate impacts of its endowment; potential leverage points to address these gaps; and some next steps to develop solutions that protect investment flexibility for Harvard Management Company while greatly and…
In May 2019, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk declared she was “sick of” the Adani Carmichael coal project’s assessment process and set a time line for its completion. This process includes the finalisation of a deal on coal royalties for the project, which is now scheduled to be completed…
These are the supporting slides to a presentation given in May 2019 in the Synapse Energy Economics webinar series. The presentation provides an overview of the scope and magnitude of energy subsidies around the world, and discusses common issues that arise with regards to measurement and value…
Ipek Gencsu, Shelagh Whitley, Leo Roberts, Christopher Beaton, Han Chen, Alex Doukas, Anna Geddes, Ivetta Gerasimchuk, Lourdes Sanchez and Anissa Suharsono
Posted on:
6/25/2019
G20 countries have a critical role to play in leading efforts to combat climate change, as they account for 79% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2009, they committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in the medium term, and since then many have played an important part in driving forward…
