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 …
The proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020, for the Electricity Act, 2003, intends to bring major reforms in the Indian power sector. One of the proposed amendments is in Section 65 of the principal Act. According to Section 65 of the Act, state governments should pay subsidy to electricity distribution companies …
The purpose of this study is to provide practical guidance and recommendations to the Government of Sierra Leone for the sustainable development of the country’s mini-grid sector by building upon lessons learned from the ongoing Rural Renewable Energy Project (RREP) as well as from mini-grid sector development in Nigeria. Important …
This brief explores recent momentum on hydrogen and evaluates potential implications for subsidies for fossil fuel-based hydrogen given the government's commitments on fossil fuel subsidies.
As the energy sector moves away from fossil fuels and shifts towards a greater share of renewables and greater electrification, these tax revenues will come under strain. While this transformation away from fossil fuels is likely to take place over the next two decades, the attendant reform in the tax …
This report brings together data on the state of electricity subsidies in India, covering all states and union territories, based on Power Finance Corporation reports and state-level documentation. It analyzes changes from FY 2016 to FY 2019—before and after the Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) scheme, a central government bailout …
The water supply and sanitation sector remains heavily subsidized around the world. Yet, the accounting of water supply and sanitation subsidies globally has proved challenging due to utility-level data limitations and their often implicit nature. This paper develops a methodology to estimate water supply and sanitation subsidies that is adaptable …
Reform of support for fossil fuels is often identified as a priority for a country’s fiscal consolidation efforts and for climate action to align financial flows with low-carbon pathways. Its implementation, however, remains elusive for many countries as they face seemingly irreconcilable policy agendas of economic growth and sustainability coupled …
This policy brief analyzes the coal-to-liquid (CTL) fuel sector in South Africa, exploring the role of subsidies in driving the consumption of coal-derived fuels. It focuses on the various support measures that have and continue to benefit the CTL industry. The CTL industry is monopolized by Sasol, a company minority-owned …
The report examines practical options for subsidy targeting in India by using a survey of over 900 households to analyze the distribution of residential electricity subsidies in the state of Jharkhand. It also examines various strategies to improve subsidy distribution and to better target benefits to poor households.
Announcing Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 that aims to provide an estimated Rs 40,000 crore as subsidies to industries in the next five years, the state government said that the new policy will help lease out government land to industrialists, provide incentives to private industrial parks and also provide “relocation incentives” …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Punjab Dyers Association Vs Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change & Others dated 24/07/2020. The proceedings in the matter were initiated on a grievance put forward by the Punjab Dyers Association that payment of amount as per applicable scheme …
Members of the WTO are negotiating new rules on fisheries subsidies with the aim of concluding a multilateral agreement on this issue by the end of 2020. However, there is currently very little guidance available about the reform of fisheries subsidies, either in the context of a possible WTO agreement …
Despite the prevalence of subsidies throughout the energy system, the sector lacks any systematically applied, standardised definition of what subsidies are. This Staff Technical Paper published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) contributes to ongoing research and debate on how energy sector subsidies are calculated and the impact of …
Subsidies matter because they are used by governments around the world to influence energy producers and consumers. This report examines how the Government of India (GoI) has used subsidies to support different types of energy, updating two previous reviews of India’s energy subsidies. We seek to answer: How have India’s …
Fiscal deficit targets sometimes lead to vicious cycles. As an economy slows, so do tax collections, and if the government slows down its spending to meet the deficit targets, it exacerbates weak growth — one of the risks flagged in this column last year (‘Seize the slowdown’, IE, August 30, …
Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The idea of ‘leave no one behind’ is inherent to all the SDGs. Social protection programs are a major mechanism for ensuring access to social goods such as nutrition, healthcare, education and …
This paper assesses the overall costs and distributional impacts of China’s planned nationwide emissions trading system for CO2 emissions reductions, a system that will differ from cap and trade and become the largest CO2 trading system in the world.
This study offers insights into Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) vis-à-via its effect on the economics of agriculture in Andhra Pradesh. It compares costs of ZBNF inputs and practices with the costs of chemical inputs (fertilisers and pesticides) for the farmer and also estimates the potential savings in fertiliser subsidies …
This study offers insights into Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) vis-à-via its effect on the economics of agriculture in Andhra Pradesh. It compares costs of ZBNF inputs and practices with the costs of chemical inputs (fertilisers and pesticides) for the farmer and also estimates the potential savings in fertiliser subsidies …
Many regional trade agreements (RTAs) contain chapters and articles that are environmentally specific. But Parties can elect to more broadly incorporate environmental objectives in their RTAs to promote their environmental concerns in such agreements. This report investigates in what ways RTAs could incorporate environmental objectives in chapters and articles related …
