As governments around the world look towards recovery from Covid-19, many will be considering how to keep global warming well below 2 °C while ensuring affordable and sustainable energy access for growing populations. This will require transforming the way electricity is generated, managed and delivered.

This report reviews the information provided on fossil fuel subsidies in the draft National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and confirms the European Commission’s findings, highlighting additional opportunities and pitfalls in government reporting on subsidies and subsidy phase-out efforts.

G20 nations have almost tripled the subsidies they give to coal-fired power plants in recent years, despite the urgent need to cut the carbon emissions driving the climate crisis. The bloc of major economies pledged a decade ago to phase out all fossil fuel subsidies.

G7 countries (and others around the world) are in the early stages of an energy transition – including, in some areas, a shift away from the production and consumption of fossil fuels. This transition is being driven by decarbonisation objectives and policies, as well as a sharp reduction in the cost of clean technologies.

A new paper from the New Climate Economy shows there is large untapped potential for fuel efficiency gains in both aviation and shipping sectors that would cut costs and reduce emissions.