Global progress and backsliding on gasoline taxes and subsidies

Michael L. Ross (), Chad Hazlett and Paasha Mahdavi
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Michael L. Ross: University of California Los Angeles
Chad Hazlett: University of California Los Angeles
Paasha Mahdavi: McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University

Nature Energy, 2017, vol. 2, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract To reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades, many governments will have to reform their energy policies. These policies are difficult to measure with any precision. As a result, it is unclear whether progress has been made towards important energy policy reforms, such as reducing fossil fuel subsidies. We use new data to measure net taxes and subsidies for gasoline in almost all countries at the monthly level and find evidence of both progress and backsliding. From 2003 to 2015, gasoline taxes rose in 83 states but fell in 46 states. During the same period, the global mean gasoline tax fell by 13.3% due to faster consumption growth in countries with lower taxes. Our results suggest that global progress towards fossil fuel price reform has been mixed, and that many governments are failing to exploit one of the most cost-effective policy tools for limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/nenergy.2016.201

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