Browse by: "2010"

Aquaculture now provides more than 50% of the global supply of fisheries products for direct human consumption. This conference proceedings addresses key policy challenges of the aquaculture sector. Policy makers, academics, industry representatives, NGOs and international organisations gathered to discuss the critical economic, environmental and social aspects of aquaculture.  This publication presents a selection of key issues covered by the workshop and includes a large number of country case studies, which provide specific examples of national approaches to aquaculture management.

 

As the hubs of economic activity, cities drive the vast majority of the world’s energy use and are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Because they are home to major infrastructure and highly concentrated populations, cities are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, warmer temperatures and fiercer storms. At the same time, better urban planning and policies can reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and improve the resilience of urban infrastructure to climate change, thus shaping future trends.  

This book shows how city and metropolitan regional governments working in tandem with national governments can change the way we think about responding to climate change. The chapters analyse: trends in urbanisation, economic growth, energy use and climate change; the economic benefits of climate action; the role of urban policies in reducing energy demand, improving resilience to climate change and complementing global climate policies; frameworks for multilevel governance of climate change including engagement with relevant stakeholders; and the contribution of cities to “green growth”, including the “greening” of fiscal policies, innovation and jobs. The book also explores policy tools and best practices from both OECD and some non-member countries.  

Cities and Climate Change reveals the importance of addressing climate change across all levels of government. Local involvement through “climate-conscious” urban planning and management can help achieve national climate goals and minimise tradeoffs between environmental and economic priorities at local levels. The book will be relevant to policy makers, researchers, and others with an interest in learning more about urbanisation and climate change policy. 

The chemicals industry - including industrial chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, food and feed additives and cosmetics - is one of the world’s largest industrial sectors. Many chemical products are traded internationally. Varying national requirements can mean duplication of efforts and significant costs for the chemicals industry, as well as posing barriers to trade.  By agreeing on test methods and data quality and sharing the workload of chemical safety testing and assessments, countries together achieve environmentally sustainable and cost-effective results.

For non-clinical health and safety testing, for example, the results of such studies carried out on a chemical product in one OECD country must be accepted by the others as long as it was carried out in accordance with the OECD Test Guidelines and Principles of Good Laboratory Practice. This saves the chemicals industry the expense of duplicative testing for products that are marketed in more than one country.

This report analyses the rigorous and comprehensive system for assessing and managing chemicals that helps governments and industry save about EUR 150 million each year, through “work sharing” facilitated by the OECD.

Eco-innovation will be a key driver of industry efforts to tackle climate change and realise “green growth” in the post-Kyoto era. Eco-innovation calls for faster introduction of breakthrough technologies and for more systemic application of available solutions, including non-technological ones. It also offers opportunities to involve new players, develop new industries and increase competitiveness. Structural change in economies will be imperative in coming decades.

This book presents the research and analysis carried out during the first phase of the OECD Project on Sustainable Manufacturing and Eco-innovation. Its aim is to provide benchmarking tools on sustainable manufacturing and to spur eco-innovation through better understanding of innovation mechanisms. It reviews the concepts and forms an analytical framework; analyses the nature and processes of eco-innovation; discusses existing sustainable manufacturing indicators; examines methodologies for measuring eco-innovation; and takes stock of national strategies and policy initiatives for eco-innovation.

What impact has globalisation had on transport? And what have been the consequences for the environment? This book aims to answer these questions and more. It looks in detail at how globalisation has affected activity levels in maritime shipping, aviation, and road and rail freight, and assesses the impact that changes in activity levels have had on the environment. The book also discusses policy instruments that can be used to address negative environmental impacts, both from an economic perspective and from the point of view of international law.

 

Related reading

Environmental Outlook to 2030 (2008)

The Economics of Climate Change Mitigation: Policies and Options for Global Action beyond 2012 (2009)

Improving the environmental performance of agriculture is a high priority in OECD and many non-OECD countries. This will be of increasing concern in the future given the pressure to feed a growing world population with scarce land and water resources. Policy has an important role to play where markets for many of the environmental outcomes from agriculture are absent or poorly functioning.   

This study focuses on the design and implementation of environmental standards and regulations, taxes, payments and tradable permit schemes to address agri-environmental issues. It deals with the choice of policy instruments and the design of specific instruments, with the aim of identifying those that are most cost-effective in very different situations across OECD countries.  

Key conclusions from the study are that: there is no unique instrument that promises to achieve all agri-environmental policy goals; the cost effectiveness of payments systems could be improved by using performance-based measures; and policy mixes need to combine policy instruments that complement and not conflict with each other.

Green growth is gaining support as a way to pursue economic growth and development, while preventing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and unsustainable natural resource use. A strategic vision is necessary to ensure that, during the exit from the crisis and beyond, governments will implement policies that are the most appropriate in terms of economic efficiency, environmental integrity and social equity, as well as coherent both at a national and an international level.

 

The 2010 Interim Report from the OECD Green Growth Strategy project highlights preliminary findings on a number of key issues that policymakers face in creating greener economies. Green growth builds on existing sustainable development initiatives in many countries and aims at identifying cleaner sources of growth, including seizing the opportunities to develop new green industries, jobs and technologies, while also managing the structural changes associated with the transition to a greener economy. Managing the employment and other distribution effects of change in more traditional sectors will also need to go hand in hand with exploiting new opportunities. Sound measurement will be needed to monitor progress towards green growth, and a set of indicators will be developed to capture its main aspects.

 

www.oecd.org/greengrowth

Improving the environmental performance of agriculture is a high priority for OECD countries. But measuring and evaluating the impact of agri-environmental policies on the environment can be challenging, as it requires linking economic and biophysical models in country-specific  contexts. 

The OECD has developed the Stylised Agri-environmental Policy Impact Model (SAPIM), which can be adapted and applied by researchers and policy makers to better understand the impact of policies on the agri-environment conditions in their countries. 

This report applies the model to representative farms in Finland, Japan, Switzerland and the United States. These countries include a wide range of objectives, policy measures and agri-environmental conditions. The results highlight that when positive or negative environmental externalities are not taken into account by farmers then the production choices by farmers will reflect private costs and benefits. Policies can potentially raise social welfare by taking account of those externalities. 

This report notes that, overall, the diversity of conditions across sectors and countries makes it difficult to generalise the impact of agri-environmental policies beyond the situations that are modeled. Nevertheless, some wider policy messages emerge. Drawing on the four case studies examined, this report recommends that; polluting activites that are not regulated should be included in policy design; the existing overall policy environment needs to be taken into account in evaluating agri-environmental policies; and environmental co-benefits and trade-offs need to be recognised.  

Green growth policies can stimulate economic growth while preventing environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and unsustainable natural resource use. The results from this publication contribute to the Green Growth Strategy being developed by the OECD as a practical policy package for governments to harness the potential of greener growth.

Measuring Innovation: A New Perspective presents new measures and new ways of looking at traditional indicators. It builds on 50 years of indicator development by OECD and goes beyond R&D to describe the broader context in which innovation occurs. It includes some experimental indicators that provide insight into new areas of policy interest. It highlights measurement gaps and proposes directions for advancing the measurement agenda.

This publication begins by describing innovation today. It looks at what is driving innovation in firms, and how the scientific and research landscape is being reconfigured by convergence, interdisciplinarity and the new geography of innovation hot spots. It presents broader measures of innovation, for example using new indicators of investment in intangible assets and trademarks. 

Human capital is the basic input of innovation, and a series of indicators looks at how well education systems are contributing to the knowledge and research bases. Further series examine how firms transform skills and knowledge, and shed light on the different roles of public and private investment in fostering innovation and reaping its rewards, with concrete examples from major global challenges such as health and climate change.

Measuring Innovation is a major step towards evidence-based innovation policy making. It complements traditional “positioning”-type indicators with ones that show how innovation is, or could be, linked to policy.  It also recognises that much more remains to be done, and points to the  measurement challenges statisticians, researchers and policy makers alike need to address.

OECD's comprehensive review of Greece's environmental programs and policies, covering air and water management, nature and biodiversity, sustainable development, the environment-economy interface, the environment-social interface, and international commitments. The review includes relevant statistical information as well as a series of recommendations for strengthening environmental infrastructure, implementing environmental policy and integrating environmental concerns into economic decisions.

This 2010 review of Japan's environmental conditions and policies evaluates progress in reducing the pollution burden, improving natural resource management, integrating environmental and economic policies, and strengthening international co-operation. It includes coverage of policy for greening growth, implementation of environmental policies, climate change, waste management and the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), and nature and biodiversity.

The review finds that since the last review, Japan has made steady progress in addressing a range of environmental issues, notably air and water pollution, and the management of chemicals and waste. The energy intensity of the economy has continued to decrease, particularly in the industrial sector, and is among the lowest in OECD countries.  Material intensity has also decreased. 

At the same time, several more complex, long-term challenges have come to the fore: climate change, sound waste, materials management, and  biodiversity conservation. Much of the last decade was characterised by sluggish economic growth, and environment and  green innovation are targeted as key drivers of future growth and job creation in Japan's New Growth Strategy.

 

This OECD review of risk management policies focuses on the Italian civil protection system and its means to prepare for and react to earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, landslides and even volcanoes. The Italian National Civil Protection Service can rapidly mobilise operational resources for emergency management and recovery both at home, throughout Europe and around the world. Its components constantly research known hazards to better understand and model vulnerabilities, while technical experts co-operate in real time to monitor events as they unfold and operate the early warning systems. These professionals are supported by a highly organised and motivated volunteer service unseen elsewhere in OECD countries. What makes these many parts of the civil protection system work as one effective whole, however, is its governance structure under the direct authority of the Italian Prime Minister.  

Recent years have seen a steep increase in the frequency and economic impacts of disasters, and Italy has been no exception. In addition to increased seasonal variance linked to climate change, the devastating earthquakes around L’Aquilla in 2009 make Italy a case study for policy-makers, emergency management practitioners, academics and international organisations who are searching for solutions, notably in the areas of disaster damage reduction policies. The Italian civil protection system offers a rich source of best practices for their consideration. The National Department of Civil Protection in particular, as the hub of the National Civil Protection Service, provides a model of professionalism and leadership. The review report also identifies many challenges facing the Italian civil protection system and areas where improvements are still needed.

Biodiversity and ecosystem services provide tangible benefits for society, such as food provisioning, water purification, genetic resources or climate regulation. These services provide critical life support functions and contribute to human health, well being and economic growth. Yet biodiversity is declining worldwide and, in some areas, this loss is accelerating. The need for policies that promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystem services is more important than ever.  

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is a direct and flexible incentive-based mechanism under which the user or beneficiary of an ecosystem service makes a direct payment to an individual or community whose land use decisions have an impact on the ecosystem service provision. Interest in PES has been increasing rapidly over the past decade: PES are proliferating worldwide and there are already more than 300 programmes in place today at national, regional and local levels. 

Drawing on the literature concerning effective PES and on more than 30 case studies from both developed and developing countries, this book aims to identify good practice in the design and implementation of PES programmes so as to enhance their environmental and cost effectiveness. It addresses the following questions: Why are PES useful and how do they work? How can they be made most effective environmentally and how can their cost-effectiveness be maximised? What are the different potential sources of finance for PES programmes, and how can they be secured? and What are the lessons learned from existing PES programmes and insights for future programmes, including international PES?

In both OECD and non-OECD countries the water sector is facing the challenges of increased competition for water resources, deteriorating water quality, and the effects of climate change and poor management. In this context, how can countries ensure access to adequate, sustainable and affordable water and sanitation services for all?  

Pricing water-related services is an essential part of the answer. This report compiles reliable and comparable data on pricing water and on water supply and sanitation services across OECD countries. It sheds additional light on such policy issues as the choice of tariff structures for water services, cost recovery for water services and affordability.

The books on “Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms” constitute a compilation of the OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents. When published, Volume 1 and 2 contained the documents issued before 2006; Volume 3 and 4 are a continuation of the compilation up to 2010.

The OECD Biosafety Consensus Documents identify elements of scientific information used in the environmental safety and risk assessment of transgenic organisms which are common to OECD member countries and some non members associated with the work. This is intended to encourage information sharing, promote harmonised practices, and prevent duplication of effort among countries.

These books offer ready access to those consensus documents which have been issued on the website thus far. As such, it should be of value to applicants for commercial uses of transgenic organisms (crops, trees, microorganisms), to regulators and risk assessors in national authorities, as well as the wider scientific community.

More information on the OECD's work related to the biosafety of transgenic organisms is found at BioTrack Online (http://www.oecd.org/biotrack).