This paper examines if recent sharp declines in the price of oil and other fossil fuels will discourage private investment in renewable energy, which is key for climate change mitigation. The increase in private renewables investment in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region have been driven by sharp declines in costs alongside supportive policies.
The sharp fall in the price of oil and other fossil fuels since 2014 risks disrupting continued private investment in renewables if they becomes insufficiently profitable. The decline in oil and other fossil fuel prices presents an opportunity for governments to reduce subsidies to them. For countries without such large subsidies, governments could increase taxes on them. This would alleviate their negative effects on climate change.
