Policies that support the use or production of fossil fuels (e.g. coal and petrol) exist in practically all countries in the world. Reviewing the literature on fossil fuel subsidies, the article argues that despite the climate and economic benefits, reforming such subsidies has proven difficult. This is due to political factors including special interests and the framing of such subsidies as crucial for development.
The growing number of successful reforms in developing countries have been driven by economic objectives rather than climate ones, although on the international level these subsidies have predominantly been framed in climate terms.
The article argues that to understand how fossil fuel subsidy reform can be used as climate policy, it is necessary to analyse to which extent international institutions, including climate institutions, influence fossil fuel subsidy reform.
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