On Monday 26 March, the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform group and the IISD’s Global Subsidies Initiative held a side event to the Rio+20 negotiating session in New York, chaired by New Zealand, that discussed why and how fossil fuel subsidy reform could be advanced at Rio+20. The side event was introduced by Ambassador Jim McLay, New Zealand Permanent Representative to the United Nations, who described fossil fuels as perverse incentives that may hinder a country’s transformation to a green economy. Other speakers included Ian Parry of the International Monetary Fund and Christopher Beaton of IISD-GSI. Participants included Ambassador Tekeda Alemu, Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Javier Diaz Carmona, Costa Rican Ambassador for Climate Change and Global Environmental Affairs, and Staffan Tillander, Swedish Ambassador for Rio+20.

Those attending discussed the hidden consequences of fossil fuel subsidies, the lack of reporting on the G20 commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies in the medium term, and governance structure and support for fossil fuel subsidy reductions.

Presentations and reports

• Fossil-Fuel Subsidy Reform: Social Impacts & Increasing Momentum at Rio+20 (PDF – 316KB) – Christopher Beaton, Research Officer, GSI, 26 March 2012
• Fiscal Policy and Fossil Fuels (PDF – 452KB) – Ian parry, Fiscal Affairs Department, IMF
• Finance of the Payment for Environmental Services Programme (PDF – 648KB) – Costa Rica

The full meeting report from IISD’s Global Subsidies Initiative can be found here.