Since joining IISD in 2010, Dr. Tom Moerenhout has contributed to IISD’s Geneva-based Global Subsidies Initiative. His research expertise and practical engagements focus on political economy and international economic law. Tom is mainly interested in resource valuation and regulation, the sustainability dimension of economic globalization and the roles of trade, investment and subsidy policies in sustainable development.
Tom has managed projects with various organizations, such as the World Bank, the OECD, OPEC, IRENA, UNEP, ICTSD, GIZ, Nestle and Greenpeace. He has also worked as a consultant for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute for Development Studies. For IISD, Tom has been engaged in research, policy analysis and project management. He has worked on institutional and policy reform related to fossil fuels, renewables, biofuels and nuclear energy. Most recently, he contributed to in-country reforms in Nigeria, Egypt, Iraq, Iraqi Kurdistan, Lebanon and India.
Tom is also an associate research scholar at Columbia University and leads the energy subsidy program at the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy at Johns Hopkins. He attained his doctoral degree at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He has also served as the Saudi-Aramco fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (2016–2017) and visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Political Sciences Department and Center on Global Energy Policy (2015–2016).
All Publications
- Electricity Sector Reform in Uttar Pradesh: Analysis of tariff adjustments and the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana Plan (UDAY)
Report - March 13, 2018
This study by IISD-Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) examines the electricity sector of the state of Uttar Pradesh by analyzing tariff adjustments and the financial assistance scheme UDAY. - Energy Pricing Reforms in the Gulf: A trend but not (yet) a norm
Report - January 19, 2018
This GSI paper summarizes recent fossil fuel subsidy reforms in the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, putting them in the context of wider developmental challenges and calling for more focused international support to energy pricing reforms in the region. - Rationalizing Energy Subsidies in Agriculture: A scoping study of agricultural subsidies in Haryana, India
Paper - October 21, 2015
This study untangles the energy-water nexus by analyzing how subsidized electricity has incentivized groundwater extraction in Haryana, India. - Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Deployment Subsidies: Onshore wind power in Germany and China
Paper - December 31, 2014
This study reviews deployment subsidies for onshore wind in two countries, Germany and China.Its primary goal is to better inform debates about... - Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Deployment Subsidies: Biomass power in the United Kingdom and Germany
Paper - December 31, 2014
This study reviews deployment subsidies for biomass power in two European countries, Germany and the United Kingdom.Its primary goal is to better... - The Context of Fossil-Fuel Subsidies in the GCC Region and Their Impact on Renewable Energy Development
Paper - September 3, 2014
This discussion paper looks at fossil-fuel pricing and subsidies in the political, social and economic context of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)... - Biofuels At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of Spain's biofuel policies
Paper - September 10, 2013
This report evaluates some of the principal issues associated with Spain's biofuels industry, support policies, employment creation, emission... - Biofuels At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of France's biofuel policies
Paper - September 10, 2013
This report evaluates some of the principal issues associated with France's biofuels industry, including support policies, employment creation,... - Biofuels - At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of U.K. biofuel policies
Paper - September 10, 2013
This report evaluates some of the principal issues associated with the U.K.'s biofuel industry, including support policies, employment creation,... - WTO Members, Not the Appellate Body, Need to Clarify Boundaries in Renewable Energy Support
Commentary - July 24, 2013
What constitutes appropriate state measures for incentivizing renewable energy development and deployment?This key question has been posed, not... - Biofuels—At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuel policies
Paper - April 16, 2013
Biofuels—At What Cost? A review of costs and benefits of EU biofuel policies analyzes a range of costs and benefits associated with European Union ... - Cultivating Governance: Cautionary tales for biofuel policy reformers
Paper - December 4, 2012
The policy brief analyzes the current developments around the emerging U-turns on government support to biofuels internationally.Based on desk... - Preparedness Assessment for the Integration of Sustainability Criteria into the Public Procurement of Infrastructure in Vietnam
Paper - January 3, 2012
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), in cooperation with the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and... - Subsidies and External Costs in Electric Power Generation: A comparative review of estimates
Paper - September 16, 2011
This review highlights the paucity of consistent information and data on subsidies to electricity generation. It also highlights the...