U.S. Energy Subsidies:Do They Reduce Electricity Generated CO2 Emissions?

This paper analyzes the influence of energy subsidies, Department of Energy (DOE) budget, U.S. government R&D spending on energy, and energy tax expenditures, on CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the electricity market. The findings indicate that between 1990 and 2010 increases in DOE Outlays led to decreases in CO2 emissions from both fossil fuels generally and coal specifically; however, the magnitude of the contemporaneous effect is small. The effects varied by states, those with marginal wind potential were more strongly affected than states with significant wind resources. R&D spending did not have a contemporaneous influence on emissions.