Decarbonisation policy crossroads: should governments fund producers or mandate consumers?

In 2025, the rollback of US Inflation Reduction Act incentives through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has reignited global debate on the long-term viability of subsidy-led decarbonisation. While early-stage support played a critical role in scaling low-carbon technologies, the fiscal and political sustainability of such models is under renewed scrutiny. Meanwhile, Europe and China are advancing demand-side mechanisms, such as at-the-pump obligations, green procurement mandates, and carbon intensity thresholds aimed at embedding decarbonisation in market rules rather than public budgets.

Debate positions:

• Pro-subsidy:
  Public funding is essential for early-stage deployment and investor confidence. Without stable subsidies, breakthrough tech like DAC, SAF, and industrial hydrogen face serious bankability hurdles.
• Pro-demand obligation:
  Long-term reliance on subsidies is unsustainable and politically fragile, as shown by the OBBBA. Mandating demand through policy ensures cost-sharing, reduces burden on taxpayers, and builds industrial resilience.

Attendee insights:

This debate unpacks the evolving global policy playbook: is future momentum best sustained through direct subsidies to derisk supply, or through regulation that forces market demand and shifts cost to end-users and industry? With public funds tightening and geopolitical competition rising, speakers will assess which mechanisms are delivering real industrial transformation.