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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 application 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.
The system of radiological protection is currently being revised in order to make it simpler, clearer and more responsive to stakeholder needs. During this evolution process, particular attention is being given to the development of an explicit system for the radiological protection of the environment. It was in this context that the NEA organised, in close collaboration with the International Commission on Radiological Protection, a forum on radiological protection of the environment.
This report summarises the key issues discussed at the forum. They include sustainable development, identification of what to protect, the definition of detriment, the necessary level of regulation, an integrated approach to protection, the use of similar approaches for humans and the environment, practical foundations for a system of environmental protection, and consequences in terms of training.
Reaching climate neutrality requires economic transformations of unprecedented scale and speed. Immediate action from the business community can avoid unnecessary costs, create wellbeing co-benefits and prepare local businesses with a better competitive position in the future climate neutral economy. This report shows what reaching climate neutrality by 2040 means for Hamburg businesses and identifies key actions they need to undertake. It provides insights where the Hamburg economy and its businesses stand on the way to climate neutrality and on their needs to advance, drawing on a business survey. The study also shares insights from action plans of selected comparison cities. It points to cross-sector as well as to sector-specific challenges and opportunities for Hamburg businesses. This includes making better use of low-cost renewables, addressing energy efficiency in buildings as well as challenges and opportunities in activities in and around the port and in industry. It highlights Hamburg's potential as a hydrogen hub as well as the need to adopt circular economy practices. It illustrates that a regional and business perspective are necessary to achieve climate neutrality in prosperity, requiring individual and collective business action.
Policy coherence is increasingly in the interest of OECD countries and developing countries alike, given their growing economic, social and environmental interdependence. This report presents scenarios showing numerical results of changes to individual policies as well as policy packages implemented simultaneously by OECD and developing countries. The results can be used to anticipate the outcomes of decisions and implement the appropriate set of policies. The scenarios also show how policy combinations could substantially improve both economic and environmental outcomes together, confirming the need for policy coherence.
Current mobility patterns in Ireland are incompatible with the country’s target to halve emissions in the transport sector by 2030. While important, electrification and fuel efficiency improvements in vehicles are insufficient to meet Ireland’s ambitious target: large behavioural change in the direction of sustainable modes and travel reductions are needed. Such changes will only be possible if policies can shift Irish transport systems away from car dependency. Building on the OECD process “Systems Innovation for Net Zero” and extensive consultation with Irish stakeholders, this report assesses the potential of implemented and planned Irish policies to transform car-dependent systems. It identifies transformative policies that can help Ireland transition to sustainable transport systems that work for people and the planet. It also provides recommendations to scale up such transformative policies and refocus the electrification strategy so that it fosters, rather than hinders, transformational change.
This report presents policy reform options to support Lithuania in meeting its climate neutrality target. It takes stock of Lithuania’s current and planned climate policies and assesses their potential for meeting the country’s climate ambitions. The report details the results of modelling carried out to assess the effectiveness of different policy scenarios, an analysis of carbon pricing and the role of innovation, an assessment of financial needs in the transition to net zero, and an analysis of the distributional implications of carbon pricing. Bringing together these findings the report offers recommendations for policy reform, highlighting the importance of setting price signals complemented by innovation support, as well as the potential of revenue recycling options in alleviating distributional concerns.
Since 2006 Lithuania has taken steps to ensure higher operational efficiency and to reduce the disparity in prices for water supply and sanitation services. However, progress has been slow. Concerns have emerged regarding representation of small municipalities in consolidated utilities and increased costs for some consumers.
Reform of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment in Lithuania presents practical options to implement the national strategy towards the consolidation of water supply and sanitation services in Lithuania as a tool to foster operational efficiency and financial sustainability of the sector. Analyses and recommendations benefitted from discussions in two pilot regions in Lithuania, to test the practicality of consolidation scenarios and accompanying measures. Particular attention is paid to tariff setting and different modes of benchmarking – including development plans benchmarking - as tools to incentivise performance. The report provides insights for countries facing similar challenges or seeking to improve the efficiency of water service provision.
The project was undertaken in collaboration with – and with the financial support of – the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.
This report presents recommendations on the reform of economic instruments for water resources management in Kyrgyzstan, specifically on tariffs for urban water supply and sanitation (WSS) and irrigation water, pollution charges, surface water abstraction charges for enterprises (consumptive and non-consumptive uses), specific land tax rates for the Issyk-Kul biosphere reserve, as well as taxes and customs duty on products contributing to water pollution. For each instrument, alternative reform options are identified and assessed, and preferred options put forward, with an action plan.
To meet their policy objectives, regulations must be accompanied by a carefully designed and well-implemented enforcement strategy, including inspections. This report provides an assessment of the enforcement and inspections strategy in the environmental sector in Peru along with recommendations to strengthen this strategy. The report evaluates the policies and legal framework of the Environmental Evaluation and Enforcement Agency of Peru, as well as its practices and the resources employed in enforcement and inspections activities. It also offers policy options to improve performance. The benchmark for the comparative analysis is the OECD Regulatory Enforcement and Inspections Toolkit. Using a checklist of 12 criteria, this Toolkit provides a simple tool for assessing the inspection and enforcement system in a given jurisdiction, institution or structure.
A clear, efficient, and modern regulatory framework for pesticides is essential for addressing their impacts on human health and the environment, supporting a life-cycle approach to their management, and ensuring crop protection and a sustainable agricultural industry. This report identifies the gaps, barriers, implementation flaws and inefficiencies that affect the regulatory framework of pesticides in Mexico. It takes stock of the regulatory framework and recent reforms, and identifies both the areas that pose the greatest challenge for the effective regulation of pesticides and those where regulation – or lack of it – in pesticides most affects policy objectives and economic activity. These challenges and practices are assessed in view of OECD principles and country experiences, and recommendations are provided to support better regulation efforts. The report finds that Mexico would benefit from adopting a comprehensive, mutually-agreed policy strategy for pesticides, recognising that pesticide management is a shared responsibility across national and local governments, the pesticide industry, pesticide users, as well as the general public.
The combined effects of the economic crisis and the recent popular uprisings in parts of the Middle East and North Africa have brought social and economic challenges back to the centre of attention of policy makers. For governments searching to create jobs, to satisfy the growing energy demand of their populations and to diversify their economies, the appeal of renewable energies is strong. However, the right policy framework and support need to be put in place if the region wants to attract private investment in the sector and reap the benefits of its favourable resource endowment, especially as regards solar and wind energy.
This report makes the case for a stronger deployment of renewables in the Middle East and North Africa and identifies the appropriate support policies required to stimulate the necessary private investment. An assessment of existing policy frameworks in the region and examples from OECD good practice are used as pointers to help guide policy makers in their choices.
The analysis contained in this report suggests that support policies targeting the life cycle of renewable energy projects such as feed-in tariffs and power purchase agreements are more effective and less distortive than policies subsidising the initial investment, such as cost reductions. The optimal incentive scheme provides investors with stability through a guaranteed but declining minimum return while imposing enough market risk to foster technological progress.
This is the first issue of the International Energy Agency’s annual publication of comprehensive information on the use of renewables and waste in the OECD region. The publication, which contains over 160 pages, is divided into three parts. The first part contains an analysis of renewables and wastes energy supply, electricity production and installed electricity generating capacity in OECD countries. The second part covers principles and definitions, and clarifies and classifies renewables and wastes energy statistics which are presented in detail in the publication. It includes general notes, notes on energy sources, country notes, geographical coverage and conversion tables. The third part provides detailed statistical tables for eight regional aggregates and for each of the thirty OECD countries. The detailed statistical tables are preceded by three summary tables and charts which illustrate the magnitude that renewables and waste energy plays in total primary energy supply and electricity generation in each country.
This is the second edition of the International Energy Agency's annual publication of data on the use of renewables and waste. The first part of the publication features an analysis of renewable and waste energy in OECD and non-OECD countries. The second part covers principles and definitions, and includes general notes, notes on energy sources, country notes, geographical coverage, as well as conversion tables. The third part provides detailed statistical tables for eight regional aggregates and for each of the thirty OECD countries.
A comprehensive book of data on the use of renewables and waste. The first part of the publication features an analysis of renewable and waste energy in OECD and non-OECD countries. The second part covers principles and definitions, and includes general notes, notes on energy sources, country notes, geographical coverage, as well as conversion tables. The third part provides detailed statistical tables for eight regional aggregates and for each of the thirty OECD countries.
This report collates and analyses the responses from a 2012 survey circulated to OECD Member countries to collect information on risk management and risk mitigation approaches used and developed by governments for professional agricultural pesticide use near residential areas. The purpose of the survey was to provide an information source on the various approaches to risk mitigation related to pesticide use/application/spray drift adopted by countries (whether on a legal or voluntary basis).
In 2011, OECD conducted a survey of member countries to gain a better overview of the mechanisms in place in countries for assessing and managing the risks of obsolete pesticides. Obsolete pesticides are those that are no longer fit for purpose for some reason, be it product deterioration, de-registration or a revision of use conditions. This report documents the analysis, conclusions and recommendations stemming from all of the submitted information.
This document is the report of the Ring Test of the February 1994 OECD draft Guideline 202, part II on Daphnia magna Reproduction Test, which was conducted in 1994. It also includes the report of the OECD Workshop on the Final Ring Test of the Daphnia magna Reproduction Test, which was held at Sheffield University on 27-28 March 1995 (Appendix E).
This document is the report of the OECD Seminar on Risk Reduction through Prevention, Detection and Control of the Illegal International Trade in Agricultural Pesticides that took place on 19 May, 2010 at OECD, Paris, France, and was chaired by Dr. Wolfgang Zornbach of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. After a series of presentations on governments‟ and other stakeholders‟ approaches and experiences (copies of all presentations are in Annex 4), the Seminar discussed the various issues associated with the illegal international trade of pesticides: risks and consequences of using illegal pesticides, risks linked to the pesticide supply/logistical chain, existing systems in place in countries, difficulties faced by authorities and customs, etc. The Seminar developed a set of recommendations targeted at governments, industry, all stakeholders and OECD.
This document is the report of an OECD survey of member governments on their pesticide regulatory data requirements for product chemistry of active ingredients and end-use formulations. Product chemistry data are key information elements that are reviewed by governments during the process of registering pesticides. The aim of the survey was to identify the commonality and differences in core product chemistry data requirements across OECD governments, and to consider whether there is a need to address such differences through greater harmonisation.
This Environment Monograph contains the report of the OECD Workshop on Environmental Hazard/Risk Assessment, which took place in London in May 1994. The Workshop was hosted by the Department of the Environment (DoE) of the United Kingdom.
Work on hazard assessment in the OECD’s Chemicals Programme is closely related to the work on Test Guidelines, co-operative investigation of existing chemicals, and the Pesticide Programme. The objectives of hazard assessment activities are to promote awareness, improvement, and, to the extent possible, harmonization of hazard assessment procedures for chemicals (including pesticides) and to encourage mutual use and acceptance of hazard assessments in OECD and other countries. These activities include the development and compilation of practical methods and procedures; promotion of their application in conjunction with co-operative investigations of chemicals; and promotion of harmonization of assessment reports. In recent years, workshops have been held (and documents produced) on aquatic exposure assessment, initial assessment of occupational and consumer exposure, and data estimation methods.