Prioritize carbon pricing over fossil-fuel subsidy reform
van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Van beers, Cees (Delft University of Technology)
King, Lewis Carl (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	While many climate activist groups enthusiastically advocate for the removal of fossil-fuel subsidies, we argue that this overstates both the climate effectiveness and political feasibility of such a strategy. Through synthesizing information from various global studies, we show that subsidies contribute to a relatively small portion of climate change and local externality problems, likely accounting for around 1%. We further argue that reform of fossil-fuel subsidies is hampered by various political and social factors, more so than the diffusion of carbon pricing. Based on these results, we argue that the far greater problem of unpriced externalities warrants a redirection or expansion of the enthusiasm for subsidy reform toward carbon pricing. This makes sense also as subsidy reform and carbon pricing essentially represent two sides of the same coin since both contribute to climate mitigation by raising fossil-fuel prices.
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	iScience, Vol. 27, Issue 1 (January 2024) , art. 108584, ISSN 2589-0042

DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108584
PMID: 38161416

5 p, 1.7 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA) > Environmental and Climate Economics (ECE)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles