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Environmental remediation activities in uranium mines and mills have become increasingly important in the last few decades due to the large number of facilities which have been taken out of operation, the growing interest in remediating previously abandoned sites and the increasingly strict environmental regulations that are being put in place. Remediation programmes are being implemented to ensure the return of affected areas to previously existing environmental conditions or to a land use that will be sustainable in the long term and acceptable to all stakeholders.
This report provides a summary of the most relevant issues and practices in remediation programmes of uranium production facilities and an overview of activities and plans in reporting countries. It covers the areas of site characterisation, dismantling and decommissioning, waste management facilities, water remediation, long-term stewardship and monitoring, policies and regulations, and costs. The country profiles of remediation activities and plans include information considered to be important by the country and are based on survey responses provided by 22 countries (12 OECD and 10 non-OECD countries).
Investigating over twenty cases where exports from developing countries faced new environmental requirements, this OECD report examines how environmental requirements can be trade barriers for developing countries. These case studies, covering a diverse number of products and exporting countries, trace a number of environmental regulations, standards and labelling schemes, from conception through implementation. In so doing, they highlight the difference that sensitivity to potential trade effects can make when designing environmental regulations and standards. They also show that timely technical assistance has played a crucial role in helping exporters from developing countries adjust to new environmental requirements without suffering adverse trade effects.
Environmental permits have played a major role in improving industry's environmental performance across the last few decades. Because they adopt a precautionary approach during the setting of environmental requirements, permitting strategies have also favoured pollution prevention. However, current permitting systems will have to adapt to address growing pressures on the environment. How are OECD countries currently meeting this challenge? What are the main features of the laws, regulations, policies and practices governing the negotiation and delivery of industrial permits in OECD countries?
This publication's three volumes give new insights into these questions. Volume 1 contains a policy study entitled Environmental Requirements for Industrial Permitting: Approaches and Instruments. This report is the first comprehensive review of permitting practices for industry in OECD Member countries. It explores the principles behind environmental permits and identifies major trends in their use. In particular, the report examines how technology-based requirements and environmental quality objectives are used together to develop permit conditions. Results are also presented from four sectoral case studies of the iron and steel, metal finishing, pulp and paper, and oil refining industry .
Volume 2 contains the proceedings of an unprecedented OECD workshop on "Environmental Permitting of Industrial Facilities". This international workshop brought together nearly 100 government experts, regulators, permit writers, industry permit holders and other private sector representatives from OECD Member and Observer countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Considering the wide range of policies, practices and viewpoints discussed, the workshop represented a significant step toward a mutual international understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of current environmental permitting systems.
Volume 3 provides a valuable reference guide on regulatory approaches to environmental permitting in OECD countries. It presents the main features of the laws, regulations, policies and practices governing the negotiation and delivery of industrial permits in eighteen OECD Member countries, the European Union and other international organisations.
From the increasing incidence of environmental pollution and soil contamination, to recurring natural disasters, the risks posed by the constant interaction between human activities and the environment are diverse, manifold and often catastrophic in their consequences. Therefore, the elaboration of effective risk-management plans, aimed at formulating viable response strategies, requires the contribution of all the economic actors involved: private parties, financial institutions, governments and international organizations.
This report focuses on the role of insurance and reinsurance companies in the management of environmental risks - environmental pollution risk and natural catastrophe risk in particular.
It discusses the issue of insurability of such risks, analyses the increasing risk of liability for environmental pollution and the underlying trends in the development of environmental liability regimes in OECD countries. It also presents an overview of the various environmental pollution insurance products and techniques developed in response to legal and factual evolutions. In addition, it describes the special features of natural catastrophe risks, the role of traditional insurance markets in the coverage of such perils, and alternative options of coverage, from governmental disaster schemes to new financial market instruments.
The Environmental Tax Policy Review of Andalusia provides a detailed review of the environmentally related tax framework in the areas of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, water usage and pollution, and waste and circular economy in the Autonomous Region of Andalusia, Spain. For each thematic area, the study identifies the scope for action at the regional level, assesses how Andalusia’s existing environmentally related taxes align with environmental tax policy principles and provides strategic recommendations to support Andalusia to improve environmental outcomes and enhance national and global environmental performance.
Environmental taxes are receiving growing interest world-wide. From an environmental perspective, a key driver has been the search for more efficient and cost-effective approaches for implementing domestic environmental policies. From a fiscal policy perspective, growing pressures have been exerted to reduce income tax rates and to offset this by broadening the tax base. These reforms provide opportunities to introduce new environmental taxes in a revenue-neutral manner and simultaneously to achieve environmental and fiscal policy objectives.
This volume presents recent developments in designing and implementing environmental taxes in China and OECD countries. Key challenges and opportunities are highlighted, including the role of removing or reforming existing distortionary subsidies that are damaging to the environment; restructuring existing taxes; and introducing new environmental taxes. The papers, which were presented at an OECD Workshop held in October 1998, provide the reader with a unique comparative analysis.
Subsidies are pervasive throughout OECD countries and much of this support is potentially harmful environmentally. This report presents sectoral analyses on agriculture, fisheries, water, energy and transport, proposing a checklist approach to identifying and assessing environmentally harmful subsidies. It also identifies the key tensions and conflicts that are likely to influence subsidy policy making. The book concludes with a discussion of politically feasible subsidy reform strategies.
Proceedings of the OECD Workshop on Environmentally Harmful Subsidies, November 2002. For the first time, experts from a variety of backgrounds (government, academics, researchers and representatives of international organisations and civil society) had the opportunity to take stock of and share technical knowledge of subsidies and their environmental impacts. They addressed these issues in the context of such diverse areas as agriculture, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, forestry and water resources
It is now widely recognised that a greater use of market based instruments is a key element of effective and economically efficient environmental policies, and an important framework condition for sustainable development. Hence, over the last decade, economic instruments have been playing a growing role in environmental policies of OECD countries. In this context, a distinctive feature is the increasing role of environmentally related taxes. All countries have introduced environmental taxes to a varying extent, and an increasing number of countries are implementing comprehensive green-tax reforms, while others are contemplating doing so.
This report analyses current use of environmentally related taxes in OECD Member countries. Focus is given to their environmental effectiveness. The report identifies obstacles to a broader use of such taxes -- in particular the fear of loss of sectoral competitiveness -- and ways to overcome such problems.
This book presents an analysis of the environmental impacts of the building sector and of current policies to mitigate these impacts, in particular with regard to reduction of CO2 emission, minimisation of construction and demolition waste and prevention of indoor air pollution. It covers a wide range of policy instruments; building regulation, capital subsidy programmes, energy tax, landfill tax, environmental labelling schemes, energy audit schemes. It indicates the direction in which environmental policies for the building sector should be developed.
How can fossil fuel producers and mineral-rich developing countries design realistic, just and cost-effective low-carbon transition pathways? Taking into account the heterogeneity of low-carbon trajectories, the Equitable Framework and Finance for Extractive-based Countries in Transition (EFFECT) provides options for policy makers, industry and finance institutions in search of the answers. The report aims to help them seize the transformational opportunities linked to sustainable, low-carbon growth. It identifies ways of mitigating the transition’s impacts on fossil fuel industries, workers and poor households, and of preventing the risks of high-carbon lock-in and stranded assets. Recognising the shared responsibility of consuming and producing countries in reducing fossil fuel production and use, EFFECT advocates for transformative partnerships for technology transfer, green finance and capacity building. Ultimately, it supports an equitable sharing of the transition’s benefits and costs, both across and within countries.
This document is intended for use by test facilities that are required to operate in compliance with the Principles of GLP, for organisations that supply support, e.g. contract archives, contract quality assurance units or IT services and for sponsors, GLP compliance monitoring authorities and receiving authorities. Organisations should ensure that they evaluate applicable regulatory requirements against their business needs. Certain aspects of archive construction and operation may have implications for compliance with building regulations or legislation regarding public health and safety. Guidance on these aspects is outside the scope of this document. Test facilities and other organisations, engaged in archiving GLP records and material, might benefit from the use of recognised archiving management standards including those concerning metadata.
The repercussions of the 2007–2008 financial crisis have acted as an impetus to improve the quality and availability of statistical information. One such initiative addresses the importance of compiling a complete accounting of a nation’s wealth, and especially the wealth of households. This is of particular importance in view of the housing market’s role in the financial crisis in several countries.
The most valuable item on the households’ balance sheet is usually housing wealth which is composed of the value of the dwelling and its underlying land. Many countries experience difficulties in valuing land and in particular separating the value of the land from the value of the structure. To assist countries, the Eurostat-OECD compilation guide on land estimation represents the first comprehensive overview of conceptual and practical issues related to the compilation of the balance sheet item land in the national accounts, in total and by institutional sector.
The Eurostat-OECD compilation guide on land estimation was prepared by the Task Force on Land and other non-financial assets under the joint leadership of Eurostat and the OECD. Representatives from various European Union (EU) and non-EU OECD countries were represented as well as the European Central Bank.
These conference proceedings present a series of evaluations of agri-environmental policies in OECD countries. They examine how effective the policies have been in achieving objectives and what policy makers have learned about the design and implementation of their policies.
These proceedings show that different methods of policy evaluation are complementary. Most countries focus on evaluating the environmental effectiveness rather than the economic efficiency of policies, using physical indicators rather than monetary values. Many policies are achieving their environmental objectives, but are taking longer than originally anticipated. The initiative being taken in many countries to incorporate monitoring and data collection into programme design and implementation is a positive development. But a number of steps need to be taken to improve the quality of evaluations, including the better articulation of policy goals and objectives, improving data quality and establishing baselines for comparison.
With 1.2 billion people, today’s youth population aged 15-24 represents the largest cohort ever to enter the transition to adulthood. Close to 90% of these young people live in developing countries, and the numbers will practically double in the least developed countries. These young people are the world’s next generation and a unique asset. If properly nurtured, they can act as engines for economic and social progress. Hence, the political will has grown among many national governments to develop comprehensive policy frameworks that better respond to young peoples’ needs and aspirations through national youth policies.
This toolkit provides analytical tools and policy guidance, based on rigorous empirical evidence and international good practices, to countries that are developing, implementing or updating their youth policies. The toolkit includes step-by-step modules to carry out a youth well-being diagnosis and includes practical examples of common youth policies and programmes in the areas of employment, education and skills, health and civic participation.
This report updates the 2001 Guidance Manual for Governments on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which provided a broad overview of the key issues, general considerations, and the potential benefits and costs associated with producer responsibility for managing the waste generated by their products put on the market. Since then, EPR policies to help improve recycling and reduce landfilling have been widely adopted in most OECD countries; product coverage has been expanded in key sectors such as packaging, electronics, batteries and vehicles; and EPR schemes are spreading in emerging economies in Asia, Africa and South America, making it relevant to address the differing policy contexts in developing countries.
In light of all of the changes in the broader global context, this updated review of the guidelines looks at some of the new design and implementation challenges and opportunities of EPR policies, takes into account recent efforts undertaken by governments to better assess the cost and environmental effectiveness of EPR and its overall impact on the market, and addresses some of the specific issues in emerging market economies.
Municipal waste has increased 22 % per capita from 1980 to 1997. At the same time, the difficulty of siting new waste disposal facilities has increased. While major progress has been made to lessen the per capita generation of air and water pollution over the past decades, waste generation is still on the rise. Faced with the increase of waste, many governments have reviewed available policy options and concluded that placing the responsibility for the post-consumer phase of certain goods on producers could provide a means to relieve certain environmental pressures, arising from post-consumer waste. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers accept significant responsibility - financial and/or physical - for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Assigning such responsibility could provide incentives to prevent wastes at the source, promote product design for the environment and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals. Within the OECD the trend is towards the extension of EPR to new products, product groups and waste streams such as electrical appliances and electronics. This guidance manual represents one means to inform national governments about the potential benefits and costs associated with EPR.
Este informe recopila estadísticas comparables de ingresos tributarios durante el periodo 1990-2021 para 27 economías de América Latina y el Caribe. A partir de la base de datos de estadísticas tributarias de la OCDE, se aplica la metodología de la OCDE a los países de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC) para permitir la comparación de los niveles impositivos y las estructuras tributarias de forma coherente, tanto entre las economías de la región como con otras economías. El informe incluye dos capítulos especiales que examinan los ingresos fiscales procedentes de los recursos naturales no renovables en la región de ALC en 2021 y 2022, así como la medición y evaluación de los gastos tributarios en América Latina. Esta publicación ha sido realizada conjuntamente por el Centro de Política y Administración Tributaria de la OCDE, el Centro de Desarrollo de la OCDE, el Centro Interamericano de Administraciones Tributarias (CIAT), la Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) y el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID).