Ending fossil fuel subsidies: The politics of saving the planet

This timely and thought-provoking book unpacks the hidden costs of fossil fuel subsidies and explores why they persist despite their harmful effects on people and the planet. Drawing on real-world case studies, it offers fresh insights into the political challenges of reform and outlines a new agenda for meaningful change.

About the book

Fossil fuel subsidies are killing both people and the planet. By encouraging excessive consumption of fossil fuels, subsidies exacerbate pollution and climate change, make violent protests more likely, and waste huge sums that could be used far better. Yet for years there has been minimal progress in eliminating fossil fuel subsidies. This book explains what fossil fuel subsidies are, how they inflict harm and what steps are being taken to reduce them. It also shows why subsidies persist and why existing efforts have been so ineffective. Drawing lessons from countries which have tried to remove fossil fuel subsidies, it explains that the fundamental challenge to reform is not technical, but political. The catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic war in Ukraine illustrate that fossil fuel subsidy reform will only succeed where it supports the achievement of things that really matter politically - energy security, protection from climate change, better air quality, and resources to improve people’s lives. The book lays out a new agenda for action on fossil fuel subsidies, showing how a better understanding of the underlying political incentives can lead to more effective approaches to tackling this major global problem.

About the author

Dr Neil McCulloch is a Director of The Policy Practice. His main area of focus is on the political economy of reform in the energy sector. This has included work on corruption in the electricity sector in Lebanon; power sector reform in Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan; energy access in India; coal phase out in Indonesia; fuel subsidy reform in Indonesia, Nigeria and Zambia; and electricity market reform in Guinea, Mali and Togo. Previously, Dr. McCulloch was the Director of the Economic Policy Program at Oxford Policy Management and, before that, the Lead Economist of the Australian Aid program in Indonesia. He has also led the Globalisation Research Team in the Institute of Development Studies in the UK and was a Senior Economist for the World Bank in Indonesia.

About the event

This session will be led by Dr Nikolay Mintchev, Principal Research Fellow at UCL Institute for Global Prosperity. Nikolay’s work focuses on the UK and Lebanon, and he is a core team member of PROCOL Lebanon, a research collaboration focusing on mass displacement and prosperity.

The event is designed to foster meaningful connections and networking among attendees. You'll have the chance to interact with like-minded professionals, speakers, and potential collaborators.