Project Completion Report
Please submit through your APEC Secretariat Program Director within 2 months of
project completion.
SECTION A: Project profile
Project number & title :
Time period covered in
report:
Committee / WG / Fora:
Project Overseer Name:
Organization / Economy
EWG 11/2010 Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies to reduce waste and limit CO2
emissions while protecting the poor
July 2012 to January 2013
Date
submitted:
January 28, 2013
Energy Working Group – Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy
Scott S. Smouse, Chair, APEC Expert Group on Clean Fossil Energy.
U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, P.O. Box
10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940, USA.
Tel: +1-412-386-5725
Fax: +1-412-386-4822
E-mail: scott.smouse@netl.doe.gov
SECTION B: Project report and reflection
Briefly answer each of the questions below. Section B should be a maximum of 2-3 pages,
inclusive of the questions and tables provided.
1. Project description: In 3-4 sentences, describe the project and its main objectives.
The objective of this project was to assess how APEC economies could rationalize and phase out
inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, thereby helping to reduce wasteful fossil fuel consumption, limit the region’s
oil import dependency, and mitigate climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The project
aimed to assess where various economies stand with respect to different fossil fuel subsidies, and
document best practices in developed and developing APEC economies for phasing out subsidies that
serve broader energy security and environmental goals while also protecting the poor and enhancing
access to energy. The more comprehensive picture of where the subsidies lie and of their costs and
perceived benefits will help them consider steps to reduce or eliminate such subsidies.
2. Meeting your objectives: Were the proposed objectives of the project met? If so, please
describe how. If not, please include any major changes to the proposed scope of the project.
Please outline any problems you may have encountered that resulted in delays to the
delivery of the activity.
The contractor selected for this project, IISD-GSI, has occupied a pivotal position in international
discussions on subsidy reduction, e.g., development of the G-20 international commitment on global
fossil fuel subsidies, including an IEA-OECD-OPEC-World Bank paper, an GSI-UNEP October 2010
conference, a GSI event at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties COP15 in
Copenhagen, and more recently the Policy Dialogue on Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform held on
September 23, 2011, in San Francisco during the APEC Senior Officials Meeting.
A technical workshop on this topic was held in conjunction with the EWG 42 meeting in Taipei during
October 2011 to offer expert advice on fossil fuel subsidy reform, with a focus on sharing
experiences from case studies in the APEC region. The workshop complemented other initiatives
underway in the Energy Working Group to establish a voluntary reporting mechanism and to spread
best practices through various analyses and capacity building mechanisms.
The consultant submitted an initial draft report in November 2011 for consideration by the project
steering committee. Some participants in the technical workshop and members of the steering
committee were uncomfortable with some aspects of the draft report. In particular, they expressed the
view that its scope appeared to be broader than an analysis of “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies and
beyond the scope of the APEC Leaders’ commitment. They emphasized that this APEC work should be
consistent with that of the G20 and APEC Leaders’ commitments and examine only inefficient fossil fuel
subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption. The consultant worked with the concerned delegates to
resolve their issues in preparing the final draft report. Specifically, it was agreed that the report would
not contain a judgment as to whether the subsidies it identifies are inefficient. This would be a task for
individual APEC economies depending on their own situations.
3. Evaluation: Describe how you evaluated the project upon completion? Detail the results of
the evaluations conducted, if any (e.g. participant evaluation, peer review of publication,
measurement of indicators, statistics demonstrating use of outputs etc.).
The contractor submitted a draft final report in August 2012, for review and evaluation by the project
steering committee. Comments on the draft were provided to the contractor, who then submitted a
revised version of the report for publication.
4. Key findings: Describe the main outputs delivered and any broader outcomes achieved as
a result of this project. (For example have there been any capacity building outcomes, policy
or operational changes, or changes to standards or systems as a result of this activity?)
Describe how project outputs relate to fora/sub fora/working group strategic and mediumterm priorities and strategic priorities. Please provide examples of important findings or
lessons learned arising from the project.
The final report is posted on the EGCFE website. It provides an analytical framework to help
governments identify, measure and evaluate their support measures, with a view to implementing
their commitment to phase-out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption.
For this reason, the report did not make specific recommendations for reforming fossil-fuel subsidies
in APEC economies.
The report drew on existing literature to provide an overview of the types and magnitude of fossilfuel subsidies in APEC economies; their economic, environmental and social impacts; and issues
raised by the private sector and political economy challenges. It provided case examples of reform
efforts in seven APEC economies that illustrate key elements of a subsidy reform strategy, and drew
lessons that can be shared with other policy-makers. Finally, it outlined a framework for planning
and implementing subsidy reform, along with policy options and suggestions for capacity building.
With regard to strategic and medium term priorities, This proposal falls within Rank 1 of the APEC
Funding Criteria for all Projects 2010, under the heading “Safeguarding the Quality of Life through
Sustainable Growth,” within the area “Work on climate change mitigation and adaptation.” Lowering
consumption of fossil energy by reduction of subsidies that tend to increase wasteful consumption
via lower energy costs, contributes to sustainable growth by improving energy efficiency and
reducing emission of pollutants and CO2.
APEC leaders in 2009, declared “We also commit to rationalise and phase out over the medium term
fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while recognising the importance of
providing those in need with essential energy services.” The November 2010 APEC Leaders’ meeting
reiterated this commitment and declared their intention to review progress towards this goal. APEC
Energy Ministers, meeting in June 2010, stressed their continued commitment to these objectives, and
instructed the EWG to work with the IEA to analyze remaining inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that
encourage wasteful consumption with a view to their rationalization and phase out.
5. Next steps: Describe any follow-up steps or projects that are planned following the
completion of the activity, such as post-activity evaluations or tracer studies planned to
assess the impact of this activity. Have the results of the activity been disseminated to
participants and other stakeholders and how? What are (if any) any flow-on effects from this
activity? How will this activity inform any future APEC activities?
No follow-up activities are planned at this time.
6. Feedback for the Secretariat: Do you have any suggestions for more effective
management of projects in the future? Any assessment of consultants, experts or
participants that you would like to share? (The Secretariat collates and examines feedback to
identify trends for ongoing evaluation of our project management and/or communications systems.)
7. Participant information: Please provide details, where applicable. Insert rows as needed.
Economy
# male
# female
Details
Other:
8. Outputs: Please provide details, where applicable. Change headings or insert rows as needed.
# planned
# actual
Details
# of workshops / events
# of publications distributed
# of CDs distributed
# of websites created
Other:
SECTION C: Budget
Attach a detailed breakdown of the APEC- provided project budget, including:
 Planned costs (using most recently approved budget figures)
 Actual expenditures
 Variance notes: An explanation of any budget line under- or over-spent by 20% or more.
SECTION D: Appendices or additions
Please attach any of the following. This information will help us better understand your project,
support overseers of similar projects and plan for future projects.
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List of experts or consultants utilized, with job titles and contact details, gender
disaggregated where possible.
See attached report of the project, Annexes 1 & 2, for summary information.
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List of participants, with job titles and contact details
Event agendas
Links to any relevant websites or online material (e.g. reports, resources created)
Results of participant feedback or other project evaluation (raw and/or analyzed)
Any other relevant information or resources that would help us learn more about your
project
FOR APEC SECRETARIAT USE ONLY APEC comments: Were APEC project guidelines
followed? Could the project have been managed more effectively or easily by the PO?
The project is one of the several priorities of the EWG works and it has been also mentioned
both in the APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting and, even, in the APEC Leaders’ Meeting as a way to
fight the climate change impacts in lowering the fossil fuel subsidies but protecting those who are in
need of subsidies in energy. The project main objectives were to provide an “analytical framework
to help governments identify, measure and evaluate their support measures, with a view to
implementing their commitment to phase-out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage
wasteful consumption”. The final report is already posted in the EWG/EGCFE website.