GLOBAL SUBSIDIES INITIATIVE

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GSI Policy Brief - A How-to Guide: Measuring subsidies to fossil-fuel producers (PDF - 2.27 MB)

GENEVA - 29 July 2010 - In our March 2010 policy brief Defining fossil-fuel subsidies for the G-20: Which approach is best?, the GSI addressed how fossil-fuel subsidies can be defined, as the start of a 3-stage process for planning fossil-fuel subsidy reform: define, measure and evaluate.

This policy brief goes on to the second stage, identifying how different types of subsidy can be measured using different methodologies, referring readers to the relevant section of our in-depth technical report for more information, Subsidy Estimation: a survey of current practice. Although it focuses on how to measure producer subsidies, a brief explanation of calculating consumer subsidies is also provided.

The policy brief concludes that experts need to agree internationally preferred methodologies for estimating these subsidies and to develop guidance on their use - potentially, in the long-term, resulting in the establishment of an independent subsidy accounting standards board.