World’s Top Fossil Fuel Importers Spent USD 314 Billion

“Every dollar spent subsidizing fossil fuels is a dollar that delays the only strategy that actually works.”

Natalie Jones

The data reveals a stark imbalance within the group:

• Fossil fuel subsidies: China leads (USD 86.7 billion), followed by the European Union (USD 73.0 billion), India (USD 67.5 billion), Japan (USD 45.1 billion) and the United Kingdom (USD 23.5 billion). The top three alone account for 72% of the group’s total.
• Renewable energy subsidies: The EU leads at USD 47.7 billion, though its fossil fuel bill remains nearly two thirds higher. Japan’s clean energy subsidies (USD 40.8 billion) nearly match its fossil fuel spending. Mexico records the most extreme imbalance, with fossil fuels receiving more than 330 times the public support that clean energy receives.

Germany and Türkiye are examples of countries that have broken free of fossil fuel dependency through public financial support for renewables.

Germany’s and Türkiye’s clean energy bets: Billions of avoided gas import costs

Germany has invested in renewable energy since the first oil crisis in 1974—and that persistence is now paying off. Having relied heavily on imported natural gas, it has been acutely exposed to the price shocks of the 2020s. IISD calculations show that its renewable feed-in-tariffs and feed-in-premiums saved EUR 25 billion in avoided gas imports in 2022, net of renewable support program costs. In the first quarter of 2026, net savings already reached EUR 3.3 billion, potentially rising to over EUR 13 billion for the full year if gas prices remain high.

Türkiye directed USD 8.5 billion to renewable energy in 2024—more than three times the recorded USD 2.2 billion in fossil fuel subsidies, though available data likely understates the true figure. New IISD research shows that this clean energy commitment is now paying measurable dividends.

The country imports over 90% of its gas, making it acutely vulnerable to price spikes. Yet IISD calculations show that its main feed-in tariff scheme, YEKDEM, saved USD 12.9 billion in avoided gas import costs from 2022 to 2025 — with every USD 100 of public support generating USD 265 in avoided gas imports at the height of the 2022 price shock. In March 2026 alone, Türkiye’s push for renewables saved an estimated USD 600 million on gas—even after the costs of supporting renewables are taken into account.

“Türkiye’s and Germany’s examples are a powerful proof of concept. Countries that prioritized clean energy investment didn’t just do the right thing for the climate —they bought themselves genuine energy security,” said Indira Urazova, policy advisor at IISD.

“As governments gather in Santa Marta this month, the message from this data is clear: shift public financial flows from fossil fuel subsidies to people, clean energy, and electrification. That is the only strategy that ensures energy security, drives down costs, and permanently shields consumers from the next price shock.”

Indira Urazova

A crisis that was written into the data—and a choice about what comes next

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz since late February 2026, following U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran, has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history, pushing crude prices above USD 100 per barrel. This is the foreseeable consequence of continued fossil fuel dependence, IISD researchers say. Some governments are responding with blanket fuel subsidies, repeating the mistake of 2022, when EU governments alone spent USD 204 billion in emergency fossil fuel support without removing the underlying vulnerability.

IISD’s research shows that others are taking a different path: New Zealand opted for targeted cash transfers to low-income households rather than across-the-board fuel price cuts, while France combined immediate relief—energy vouchers for 3.8 million low-income households and liquidity loans for fuel-intensive small businesses—with a doubling of electrification support to EUR 10 billion annually by 2030, explicitly linking short-term relief to reducing fossil fuel dependence.

Santa Marta: Time to get the roadmaps right

With more than 80 countries having backed a global fossil fuel transition roadmap at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30), the Santa Marta conference is the moment to translate that commitment into action. Fossil fuel subsidy reform is the critical first step of any credible transition plan — the entry point for realigning public finance with clean energy, researchers say. But credible roadmaps must go further by addressing production and consumption pathways together, ensuring affordable energy access, and embedding just transition measures. The billions currently flowing to fossil fuel subsidies from nine of the world’s largest importers represent the fiscal space that already exists. Redirecting even a fraction toward targeted social welfare, clean energy alternatives, and electrification would reduce energy poverty, lower long-term costs, and build genuine energy security, experts say.

“Another round of subsidies, another crisis, another emergency response — that is a choice, not an inevitability. Santa Marta is the moment to choose differently,” said Natalie Jones.

“Fossil fuel subsidy reform is the first step, but governments must commit to a whole-economy transition plan that protects the most vulnerable households and builds the clean energy foundations that make the next price shock manageable.”

Natalie Jones

Notes to editors

• U.S. fossil fuel subsidy data has been excluded from all totals and country comparisons. The United States previously reported this data to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, but it is no longer available following its withdrawal.
• The “top 10 importers” are defined by total fossil fuel import volume (TJ) in 2024, with the European Union treated as a single aggregate.
• Türkiye and Germany figures (avoided gas imports) are from forthcoming IISD research.

The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is a globally recognized think tank with 3 decades of experience working to solve the world’s most pressing sustainable development challenges.

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