1.
Presented at ‘Addressing Energy Governance: A question of Scale and Scope’,
18 July, 2016
Laura Merrill (lmerrill@iisd.org) and Richard Bridle (rbridle@iisd.org)
Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform
Gender
Coal vs Renewables

2.
Countries that have undergone some form of fossil
fuel subsidy reform since 2014 past two years
Source: IISD, 2015 based on IEA, WEO 2014 and 2015 and GIZ.

3.
Research Question
Do Fossil Fuel Subsidies and their reform have
Gender-Differentiated Impacts?
There are two major areas where knowledge gaps exist:
• Understanding gender differentiated impacts of existing
subsidy policies
• Understanding gender differentiated impacts of subsidy
reform

4.
Phase 1
• Answering the Research Question through
a Literature Review
• Categorising the Literature under the
following themes
Phase 2
• Research in India, Nigeria and Bangladesh: data
audit, survey, and FGDs.
Gender
Dimensions of
Energy Use
Gender
Dimensions of
FF Subsidies
Gender
Dimensions
of FF Subsidy
Reform
Mitigation
Measures
Gender
Differentiated
Impacts of FF
Subsidy Reform
Methodology
http://www.iisd.org/gsi/fossil-fuel-subsidies/gender
http://www.energia.org/research/

5.
Phase 1 : Literature Review
Many studies
across welfare,
empowerment
and productivity
Gender Dimensions of Energy
Use
•Some from GSI
•Poverty
perspective
Gender Dimensions of Fossil
Fuel Subsidies
•World Bank 2015
Gender Dimensions of Subsidy
Reform
•Universal and
conditional cash
transfers
•Energy coupon or
voucher schemes
•Better targetting
Gender Dimensions of
mitigation measures
One qualitative study via interviews
on reform and gender for Europe and
Central Asia

6.
Gender Dimensions of Fossil Fuel Subsidies
and Reform
Analysing Gender Differentiated
Impacts of Fossil Fuel Subsidies and
their Reform
Income Effect
When subsidies are
an income transfer to
the household
Energy Use Effect
When subsidies
change the relative
price and
consumption of fuels
Energy Supply Effect
When subsidies
change the
availability of an
energy source
Transport & Non-
transport Fuels

7.
Other Country Perspectives
Peru’s Mitigation Measures
• Subsidy Reforms from 2009-2012 led to significant increases to domestic fuel prices
• Implemented the ‘improved cooking stove distribution programmes’ (Project Nina) in 2009
• LPG voucher scheme (FISE) introduced in 2012
• The existing Conditional Cash Transfer programme (Juntos – created in 2005) also
expanded significantly in 2009
• All three measures have served to soften the impact of increasing energy prices on the
poor and particularly on women
Morocco’s Mitigation Measures
• Subsidy reform between 2011 and 2015 increased gasoline prices 25 per cent and and
diesel prices by 35 per cent
• two existing nationwide social safety nets were significantly enlarged
> Conditional cash transfer programme (Tayssir) targeting poor rural households
expanded from 80,000 families in 2009 to 466,000 families in 2014
> health insurance scheme for the poor, Regime d’Assistance Medicale (RAMED),
increased its coverage
• Regressive subsidies – those that don’t benefit the rich - were eliminated
(gasoline and diesel)
• Poor Households sheltered from any adverse impacts
http://www.iisd.org/gsi/fossil-fuel-subsidies/gender
http://www.energia.org/research/

8.
Coal vs renewables
Presented by Richard Bridle
July 2016

9.
Jobs
Coal vs Renewables 18/07/2016

10.
Jobs
Coal vs Renewables 18/07/2016

11.
Visualising the costs of
subsidies and externalities
Air pollution CNY 212 – 8,446 billion
Renewable subsidies CNY 45 - 103 billion
Producer subsidies CNY 36 billion
GHG emissions CNY 1,044 – 4,172 billion
Consumer subsidies CNY 8.8 – 158 billion
Notes on figure:
a) Ranges indicate the range of all available data. Size of circle indicates average of all available data. Consumer subsidies based on (Lin & Ouyang, 2014)
and (IEA, 2014)
b) Renewable energy subsidies based on Shen & Luo (2015) and IEA (2014) GHG emissions based on (Coady, Parry, Sears, & Shang, 2015) and Authors’
calculations
c) Producer subsidies based on (Xue et al., forthcoming)
d) Consumer subsidies based on Lin & Ouyang (2014) and IEA (2014)
e) GHG emissions based on Coady, Parry, Sears, & Shang (2015) and Authors’ calculations
f) Air pollution based on Coady, Parry, Sears, & Shang (2015), NRDC (2014) and Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning (2014)
Coal vs Renewables 18/07/2016

12.
Coal phase out in Ontario
1. A 2005 independent study estimated
that the total annual cost of coal-fired
electricity, including health, financial
and environmental costs, was $4.4
billion (2004$).
2. Coal went from 25% of Ontario’s supply
mix in 2003 to zero in 2014, all while
grid reliability and domestic supply
improved.
3. The elimination of coal stands as the
single largest GHG emissions reduction
action on the continent.
Coal vs Renewables 18/07/2016

13.
How to remove coal
subsidies?
1. Coal subsidy reform is a difficult but worthwhile activity;
2. Social impacts are hugely important and must be understood and
mitigation measures must be put in place;
3. In the longer term the price of energy should include the cost of
externalities;
4. If just a fraction of the true cost of energy is included in the price
renewables will out compete coal.
Coal vs Renewables 18/07/2016