Report
IMF: Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies
A 2019 IMF report finds that globally, fossil fuels are subsidized at six percent of the world's GDP, and that the U.S. is the second largest subsidizer.
A 2019 IMF report finds that globally, fossil fuels are subsidized at six percent of the world's GDP, and that the U.S. is the second largest subsidizer.
This 2019 paper from the International Monetary Fund updates estimates of fossil fuel subsidies, defined as fuel consumption times the gap between existing and efficient prices for 191 countries. Globally, subsidies remained large at $4.7 trillion (6.3 percent of global GDP) in 2015 and were projected at $5.2 trillion (6.5 percent of GDP) in 2017. The largest subsidizers in 2015 were China ($1.4 trillion), United States ($649 billion), Russia ($551 billion), European Union ($289 billion), and India ($209 billion).
About three quarters of global subsidies are due to domestic factors—energy pricing reform thus remains largely in countries’ own national interest—while coal and petroleum together account for 85 percent of global subsidies. Efficient fossil fuel pricing in 2015 would have lowered global carbon emissions by 28 percent and fossil fuel air pollution deaths by 46 percent, and increased government revenue by 3.8 percent of GDP.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 190 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.