TAXING ENERGY USE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENERGY TAX AND SUBSIDY REFORM IN SELECTED DEVELOPING AND EMERGING ECONOMIES

Economic recovery programmes provide opportunities for countries to focus on strategies for pursuing sustainable development, while taking the necessary steps to mobilise domestic resources. Sustainable development requires an alignment between development strategies and climate change objectives. Carbon pricing and fossil fuel subsidy reform can be powerful tools to encourage low-carbon development choices and contribute to domestic resource mobilisation. Apart from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon pricing can reduce local air pollution, reduce informality, and facilitate aligning development co-operation and climate action.

Taxing Energy Use for Sustainable Development: Opportunities for energy tax and subsidy reform in selected developing and emerging economies (TEU-SD) presents results for 15 developing and emerging market economies. The results in TEU-SD include data and indicators to support carbón pricing reforms in the 15 TEU-SD countries, and compares their macro-economic and policy context to OECD countries. The results aim to inform policy makers so that they can translate high-level policy ambitions, such as those under the Paris agreement and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), into concrete action at the national level.

Countries include: Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and Uganda in Africa; the Philippines and Sri Lanka in Asia; and Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica and Uruguay in Latin America and the Caribbean.

1. Energy tax and subsidy reform for a better recovery

2. Starting points differ across countries

3. What is the net effect of energy taxes and subsidies on public finances?

4. Carbon prices are low

5. How much could carbon price reform contribute to domestic resource mobilisation?

6. Lessons learnt and next steps

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