IMF: Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies Total $7.4 Trillion in 2024
Mar 5th 2026
An IMF working paper (2025/270) analyzing 170 countries finds global fossil fuel subsidies totaled about $7.4 trillion in 2024, driven mainly by underpriced air pollution and climate costs, and outlines the emissions, health, and fiscal impacts of subsidy removal.
- Explicit subsidies were $725 billion in 2024, equal to 0.6 percent of global GDP.
- Implicit subsidies from underpriced pollution and climate damages were $6.7 trillion, or 5.8 percent of GDP.
- The analysis covers 170 countries and finds implicit subsidies account for about three quarters of total underpricing.
- Explicit subsidies have stabilized at pre COVID levels while implicit subsidies rose and are projected to increase until 2035.
- Removing explicit subsidies would cut CO2 emissions by 6 percent in 2035, prevent 70,000 premature air pollution deaths annually, raise government revenue by 0.6 percent of GDP, and generate net economic benefits of 0.5 percent of GDP.
- Removing both explicit and implicit subsidies through corrective taxes could prevent about 1.1 million premature deaths and reduce CO2 emissions by 46 percent.
- Fuel subsidies are poorly targeted, with the poorest 20 percent of households receiving only 8 cents of every dollar spent on explicit subsidies.