Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 17 September 2026 · From issue 38
Reallocating fossil subsidies via social assistance reduces poverty and preserves emissions cuts
Sharing subsidy savings through cash aid cuts poverty without losing pollution cuts, a model shows.
Xiangjie Chen, Kuishuang Feng et al.
Cutting fossil fuel subsidies cuts pollution but can push poor families deeper into poverty if nothing else changes. A global economic model shows that sending part of the saved money to poor households through cash assistance programs fixes this problem. Handing out all the savings is not the best plan. Keeping about 20% of the money for other public needs, while sending the rest to poor families, still cuts poverty and keeps the pollution cuts.
Share of fuel subsidy savings a government can keep while still cutting poverty and emissions.
Model based on national data only, not a real policy trial.
Integrity screen: passed (3 checks) Checked 20 September 2026. Retraction record: none. DOI resolves at doi.org. Metadata record found (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). Read the source
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