Browse by: "F"

This report looks at farm management practices with green growth potential, from farmer-led innovations (such as those directly linked to soil and water, Integrated Pest Management, organic farming) to science-led technologies (such as biotechnology and precision agriculture). Global food demand can only be met in a sustainable way if new forms of agricultural production and innovative technologies can be unlocked to increase the productivity, stability, and resilience of production systems with goals beyond just raising yields, including saving water and energy, reducing risk, improving product quality, protecting the environment and climate change mitigation.

This study examines the broad range of factors driving farm management decisions that can improve the environment, including drawing on the experiences of OECD countries. It identifies policy options that would contribute to a sustainable and resilient agricultural sector in the context of climate change.

Land is a key input into agricultural production and the agricultural sector remains the main user of rural land in most OECD countries. How land is managed in agriculture, and the conversion of farmland to non-agricultural uses, are likely to have implications not only for the provision of food, but also for the supply of public goods such as rural amenities, as well as for the quantity and quality of water. Changes in agricultural, agri-environmental, land-use, and regional policies – together with factors such as climate and demographic changes – increasingly affect land use and management choices. This report examines the impact of several policies on farmland conversion using a combination of economic analysis and empirical case studies.

Infrastructure worldwide has suffered from chronic under-investment for decades and currently makes up more than 60% of greenhouse gas emissions. A deep transformation of existing infrastructure systems is needed for both climate and development, one that includes systemic conceptual and behavioural changes in the ways in which we manage and govern our societies and economies. This report is a joint effort by the OECD, UN Environment and the World Bank Group, supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. It focuses on how governments can move beyond the current incremental approach to climate action and more effectively align financial flows with climate and development priorities. The report explores six key transformative areas that will be critical to align financial flows with low-emission and resilient societies (planning, innovation, public budgeting, financial systems, development finance, and cities) and looks at how rapid socio-economic and technological developments, such as digitalisation, can open new pathways to low-emission, resilient futures.

This book presents a method to develop financing strategies for investment-heavy environmental infrastructure, such as urban water supply, wastewater collection and treatment, and municipal solid waste. The strategies, supported by the FEASIBLE computer model, were developed in several countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), in EU accession countries and China. This approach focuses on the importance of realism, affordability and the cost-effective use of resources in achieving infrastructure development and environmental goals.

The scale of Uzbekistan’s green transition requires a marked increase in private financing to fill the existing spending gap. The outsized role of the state in Uzbekistan’s economy and its underdeveloped domestic capital market act as significant constraints and call for a diversification of sources to finance the green transition. Since 2021, Uzbekistan has made green bonds a central part of its strategy to fill the financing gap and mobilise new sources of capital for its domestic green infrastructure projects. This publication explores the current market and institutional set-up in Uzbekistan, the reforms that have led to recent issuances of both sovereign and corporate thematic bonds, and the remaining barriers to further uptake of the instrument. The report also provides policy recommendations related to the market's institutional set up, Uzbekistan's regulatory framework for debt capital markets and emerging opportunities for further green bond use aimed at key stakeholders, including policy makers and market participants.

The current environmental situation of the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) is dire and challenges are mounting, but there are also new opportunities. This report explains the environmental challenges that these transition economies face, and assesses the financial tools and resources, both domestic and foreign, available to tackle them.

This report presents a summary of the key challenges and opportunities related to financing that contributes to water security and sustainable growth distilling insights from the Roundtable on Financing Water and related analyses. It covers a broad range of water-related investments, including water and sanitation services, water resources management, agricultural water and managing water-related risks (“too much”, “too little” and “too polluted”). It summarises findings from analysis of investments needs and financing capacities, trends in development finance for water and explores how water risks generate financial impacts for corporates. The report highlights options to address the financing challenge by strengthening the enabling environment for investment, making the best use of existing sources of finance, strategic investment planning and mobilising additional finance via a range of financing approaches. Finally, the report sets out a vision for future OECD work on financing water and for the Roundtable on Financing Water.

Natural disasters continue to cause widespread damage and losses, with fast growing economies particularly exposed. Governments often shoulder a significant share of the costs of disaster recovery and reconstruction. This is true in OECD countries and even more so in developing economies, where private insurance markets are not as well developed. The fiscal impact of disasters on a government’s budget can be sizeable. Expenditures for the government arise from both explicit and implicit commitments to compensate for disaster losses. This report presents the results of a study that compares country practices in the management of the financial implications of disasters on government finances for a set of OECD member and partner countries particularly exposed to natural hazards.

This book gathers the proceedings of an OECD Workshop that took place in April 2004 in Paris, on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing -- a worldwide problem which is increasing in scale. The aim of the workshop was to better understand the social and economic factors that drive IUU fishing in order to identify more effective methods to combat this evil and propose new ways to deal with it.

This document presents a review of fish toxicity testing for the regulatory purpose of chemical safety. The main focus is on fish toxicity, but fish bioaccumulation is also considered where relevant. A review of regulatory needs for fish tests under various jurisdictions in OECD countries is provided in Chapter 2, followed by a review of statistical issues and general test considerations in Chapters 3 and 4, respectively. The document examines animal welfare concerns and alternatives to fish tests in Chapter 5. Chapter 6 provides a systematic review of existing and draft OECD Guidelines which use fish for toxicity or bioaccumulation studies. Finally Chapter 7 describes a generic framework for assessing the environmental hazards of chemicals using fish tests in the most efficient way. An Annex contains conclusions and recommendations made and agreed at the workshop in September 2010. The recommendations concern, among other aspects, possible improvements to existing Test Guidelines, development of guidance on specific issues, harmonisation of existing Test Guidelines for common issues, development of new Test Guidelines, and proposals for deletion of outdated Test Guidelines.
 

This report, prepared by FAO and the OECD with inputs from IFPRI, IFAD, the World Bank and WTO, has been submitted to the G20 Presidency of the Argentine Republic in response to the Presidency’s request for information on future trends and challenges faced by global agriculture, with a special focus on the role of soils in promoting food security and the measures that could be undertaken to facilitate sustainable soil management.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is one of the driving forces binding countries into closer economic interdependence. The rapid increase in FDI flows has generated considerable debate about its environmental implications, in particular the impacts on environmental quality in the investment host country. A broader issue is the role of FDI in promoting sustainable development. To date, much of the debate has been polemical in nature. This volume moves the debate forward by analysing in a clear and considered manner the key issues in the FDI and environment relationship. Empirical evidence from OECD and non-OECD countries is presented and the strengths and weaknesses of policy and institutional frameworks that guide investors' environmental behaviour are discussed. In addition, the emerging role of voluntary commitments on the environment is examined. Best practices in this area are highlighted. The papers were presented at the OECD Conference on Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment held in January 1999 in The Hague.

This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) provides information on the sources, use patterns, and potential release pathways of chemicals used in the manufacture of thermal and carbonless copy paper. The document presents approaches for estimating the environmental releases of and occupational exposures to additives and components used in thermal and carbonless copy paper coatings.

This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) provides information on the sources, use patterns, and potential release pathways of chemicals used in the radiation curable products industry, specifically during formulation of radiation curable coatings, inks, and adhesives. The document focuses primarily on ultraviolet (UV) and electron beam (EB) curable products and presents standard approaches for estimating the environmental releases of and occupational exposures to components and additives used in radiation curable products.