HLPF Side Event: Leadership on fossil fuel subsidy reform for sustainable energy access and poverty reduction
This side event presents opportunities for financing and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through fossil fuel subsidy reform, with a focus on sustainable energy access.
Leadership is required to move away from inefficient and harmful fossil fuel subsidies (SDG 12) towards sustainable energy systems with access to energy for all (SDG 7). Fossil fuel subsidies stood at about USD 425 billion in 2015. This is 7.5 times more than the amount of financing required for universal electricity access. Reforming subsidies has massive benefits as a means of implementation for the global transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies. Nevertheless, reform requires efforts from political leaders, civil society and sound information to be successful.
This side event presents opportunities for financing and delivering the SDGs through fossil fuel subsidy reform, with a focus on sustainable energy access. Speakers will present replicable strategies for fossil fuel subsidy reform with high benefits for poverty reduction, gender and the SDGs. These strategies include better targeting of subsidies and subsidy "swaps,” which entail shifting fossil fuel subsidies toward sustainable energy solutions like renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as investments in public transport. The event will see the launch of a report on the interlinkages between energy access and fossil fuel subsidies.
The side event is organized by New Zealand on behalf of the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (“Friends”), with Finland, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway as co-organizers. IISD's Global Subsidies Initiative is coordinating the event.
Date & Time
July 13, 2018, 6:30-8:00 PM
Speakers
- Chair and opening remarks: Craig Hawke, Permanent Representative of New Zealand
- Moderator: Scott Vaughan, President and CEO, IISD
- Panelists:
- Annika Lindblom, Secretary General, National Commission on Sustainable Development and Counsellor, Ministry of the Environment, Finland
- Anna Zinecker, Policy Advisor, IISD
- Ligia Noronha, Director, Economy Division, UN Environment
For more information, please contact:
Anna Zinecker, IISD, +41774580731, azinecker@iisd.org
Ziona Eyob, zeyob@iisd.ca
Upcoming events
Building Bridges: The State of Nature-Based Investments
Join us for a panel at the Building Bridges conference in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss the state-of-play of nature-based investments and the potential opportunities they present.
Through Her Lens: Women leading change in sustainable agriculture and market inclusion
Despite the critical role that women play in agricultural production, they still do not have equal access to global agricultural supply chains on terms that benefit them.
A Municipal Perspective on the Value of Natural Infrastructure
This webinar will showcase examples the cost-effectiveness of natural infrastructure from a municipal perspective. Focusing on what municipalities need—what evidence and numbers they rely on, and what tools and planning processes are required to ensure that natural infrastructure is assessed alongside traditional infrastructure for cost-effectiveness.