G7 Countries Must Urgently Phase Out Fossil Fuel Subsidies

This policy brief was published by the Task Force “Climate and Environment” on the T7 website here.

The world’s governments have pledged to fight climate change, yet many still subsidize fossil fuels, the combustion of which increases GHG emissions. Phasing out these subsidies is thus vital to combating climate change. What this Policy Brief proposes is that G7 Governments reaffirm their commitment to end their fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 at the latest, and financial support in any form for coal production or consumption by mid-2023. Parallel to these efforts, the Policy Brief calls upon G7 Governments to take the lead in providing full inventories of their fossil fuel subsidies, including those provided through their tax systems, and undertake comprehensive evaluations of those support measures. Improving transparency on the real costs and benefits of fossil fuel subsidies is necessary for informing public policies and triggering public debate. The results of these evaluations should then be used to drive comprehensive, evidence-based reforms of fossil fuel subsidies.