The SDGs and fossil fuel subsidy reform

Abstract

This short perspective asks what is the role—and added value—of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their associated institutional structures in the international governance of fossil fuel subsidies and their reform? It argues that whilst some progress has been made, notably through developing a methodology to define and measure fossil fuel subsidies, countries have only to a very limited extent followed up through indicator reporting and through their Voluntary National Reviews. Nevertheless, the SDGs can help highlight the various sustainable development dimensions of fossil fuel subsidies and support ongoing efforts to strengthen transparency, thereby indirectly helping to drive reform at the national level.