This report summarizes the findings of a review aimed at understanding emerging approaches to energy subsidy reform, discerning trends, and identifying major strands of thinking and research in the field, as reflected in major policy and academic journals relevant to the subject. The review was initiated in early 2020 as …
Free distribution of a technology can be an effective development policy instrument if its adoption is socially inefficient and hampered by affordability constraints. Improved cookstoves may be such a case: they generate high environmental and public health returns, but adoption is generally low. Based on a randomized controlled trial in …
This study analyzes the long-term impact of India’s Food Security Act on its domestic rice market and the international market for rice. This study analyzes the long-term impact of India’s Food Security Act on its domestic rice market and the international market for rice. Policy making in food security is …
A system incorporating large amounts of intermittent renewable generation will have greater flexibility needs, but may not cost more. A central finding of this report is that in as little as two decades a system built from scratch, based on renewable energy with investment to support the additional flexibility needs …
As the Grand Energy Transition fast becomes a reality, the minds of global energy leaders are becoming increasingly focussed on long term trends that threaten existing economic and business models rather than concerns about short term risks. Issues that will dictate the speed and the breadth of the energy transition …
Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Electrification of Backward and Remote Areas of the Country, 20/03/2017. During the financial year 2014-15, Government of India approved Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) with a total investment of Rs. 43033 crore. Under Decentralized Distributed Generation (DDG) component of DDUGJY, access to electricity …
Solar panels on the rooftop that produce a kilowatt of power are no longer beyond the reach of ordinary citizens. Such a project will cost around Rs 60,000, even less if the central government's 30% subsidy is factored in. In fact, generating the energy to run two fans and two …
Indonesia is the largest country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), accounting for around two fifths of the region’s energy consumption. Energy demand across the country’s more than 17,000 islands could increase by four fifths and electricity demand could triple between 2015 and 2030. While reliance on domestic …
This book proposes a simple framework for understanding the political economy of subsidy reform and applies it to four in-depth country studies covering more than 30 distinct episodes of reform. Five key lessons emerge. First, energy subsidies often follow a life cycle, beginning as a way to stabilize prices and …
Fuel prices, especially the prices of gasoline and diesel, shape our mobility patterns. Low fuel prices benefit motorized transport and encourage low energy efficiency technologies and wasteful behaviour. On the other hand, countries which price fuels at their real costs of production and furthermore apply fuel taxes can foster the …
Agricultural productivity depends on several factors. These include the availability and quality of agricultural inputs such as land, water, seeds and fertilizers, access to agricultural credit and crop insurance, assurance of remunerative prices for agricultural produce, and storage and marketing infrastructure, among others. This report provides an overview of the …
China and India, the world’s most populous countries, also match each other on the scale and severity of urban air pollution. Addressing this pollution requires that governments reorient policies away from fossil fuel combustion. This brief explores one such policy shift—reform of fossil fuel subsidies—and how this shift is being …
Subsidies should end for many types of biomass, a new Chatham House report argues, because they are failing to help cut greenhouse gas emissions. The report adds that policymakers should tighten up accounting rules to ensure the full extent of biomass emissions are included. The analysis outlines how policies intended …
Bangladesh has always been prone to natural hazards such as cyclones and floods. Impacts of climate change have only increased the frequency and intensity of these extreme events, accompanied by rising sea levels. The country also suffers from the effects of over-population and low development making it one of the …
• Using wood pellets to generate low-carbon electricity is a flawed policy that is speeding up not slowing down climate warming. • That's according to a new study which says wood is not carbon neutral and emissions from pellets are higher than coal. • Subsidies for biomass should be immediately …
Enhancing the productivity of agriculture is vital for Sub-Saharan Africa's economic future and is one of the most important tools to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity in the region. How governments elect to spend public resources has significant development impact in this regard. Choosing to catalyze a shift …
Rising focus on the increasing awareness of existing solar systems, ambitious plans announced on the amount of solar power generation over the next few years, cancellation of subsidies over a considerable period and their reintroduction, and of course, the “solar scam” are some of the issues at the forefront of …
Global profits from fishing could grow by tens of billions of dollars if depleted fish stocks were allowed to recover, bolstering the livelihoods of millions of people and feeding the world’s growing population, says this new study by the World Bank. Global marine fisheries are in crisis: 90 percent are …
This report sheds light on the potential climate benefits of the removal of fossil fuel production subsidies in terms of both greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the oil, gas and coal reserves that could become uneconomical to produce. The paper explains how different production subsidies currently unlock “zombie energy” …
Federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation says coal ‘seriously challenged’ as a commercial investment. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has said it is “very unlikely” it would invest in new coal-fired generators and poured cold water on the federal government’s push to support “clean coal” technology. The CEFC’s hostile approach …
The World Bank has criticised what it believes are "grossly misrepresented" findings from the Bank Information Center (BIC), which has claimed that up to $5bn in intended low-carbon funds have instead been used to introduce tax breaks for fossil fuel developments in developing countries. BIC has suggested that the World …
