Earth Track Document

Measuring energy subsidies using the price gap approach: What does it leave out?

Tracking energy subsidies for a single country is a challenging task; trying to measure them globally is even more so.  Multi-country studies of fossil fuel studies have been done, and normally use a price gap measure.  This approach compares the world price of the energy commodity with a transport-adjusted world reference price at which fuels could be brought in to a country.  While the price gap provides many useful insights on energy subsidy trends, these estimates form a lower-bound for total support.

Subsidies to Ethanol in the United States

This chapter reviews the major policy developments affecting the fuel-ethanol industry of the United States since the late 1970s, quantifies their value to the industry, and evaluates the efficacy of ethanol subsidization in achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals.  Total support to ethanol is currently substantial ($5.8-7.0 billion in 2006) and set to rise sharply even under existing policy settings.  However, its cost effectiveness is low, especially as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Federal Energy Subsidies: Energy, Environmental, and Fiscal Impacts - Background data on key subsidies to the nuclear fuel cycle

Extract from technical appendix of report by Doug Koplow for the Alliance to Save Energy. Detail on federal subsidies to decommissioning, waste disposal, accident liability, uranium enrichment, and regulatory oversight of the industry.

Biofuels in the Transport Sector: Promoting Policy Neutrality.

Presentation to the World Bank Transport Forum outlines a number of principles for good alternative fuel policy that focuses on displacing petroleum consumption in transport rather than trying to select the winning technology.  (March 2007).  A more detailed policy description, for comment, can be found in Remaking Biofuels Policy:  Neutrality and Competition. (April 2007).
Subscribe to Earth Track Document