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The transport sector is almost fully dependent on oil-derived products and in both the United States and in Europe this sector contributes with about one third of total energy consumption and about 30 % of the CO2 emissions. The transport sector is forecasted to contribute with 90 % of the increase in CO2 emissions projected for EU in 2010. With the increasing use of oil for transport in China, India and other Asian countries the rush for oil has resulted in increasing prices on oil and a push for production of oil substitutes. Finding alternatives is a key issue and biofuels are expected to be the easiest alternative fuel as no significant changes in the infrastructure or in established vehicles and engines are required. Biomasses play a unique role as raw materials for the production of transport fuels as outlined by US Department of Energy. It is important to understand that biofuels are not always “bio”- and in some situations large scale production will lead to a larger over-all use of fossil fuel and thereby a larger emission of carbon dioxide. Biodiesel produced from rape seed and bioethanol produced from corn might be questionable when it comes to the net energy produced. Furthermore, production of these types of biofuels will occupy land, which might be used for food production and it can further lead to loss of rainforest or deforestation in parts of the world where the new opportunities opens for new developments.

Concern about fiscal sustainability has been fueled by the projected ageing of populations in OECD countries and the likely surge in government spending on pensions and health care. For the most part, it has not been driven by worries about the current fiscal position of countries.

Becoming a successful city involves achieving a high investment/high return equilibrium, just as much as it does for the most successful businesses. Success in the open knowledge driven global economy requires places to be truly distinctive, appealing and productive. Just as firms must innovate and invest to succeed, cities have to adjust, reinvent, and differentiate themselves. They have to change the old patterns of land and resource use, and connect assets with opportunities in new ways and over new spaces. They must modernise infrastructure and build up human capital. This can have positive impacts on entrepreneurship, innovation, skills, and other factors of growth. But this involves adjustment costs, in the form of investment to re-engineer the city for the new economic functions and flows that it must facilitate. It can take 30-50 years of re-investment to fully recalibrate a city from the industrial mode to the knowledge mode...

This document examines Norwegian policy on managing natural and environmental resources. These issues, and more generally the challenges of sustainable development, are primary concerns of the authorities in Norway, a country richly endowed with natural resources. Substantial action has been taken, as can be seen in the development of an integrated institutional framework and in the major efforts undertaken to co-ordinate government policies in this area. The investment of a large share of the rent from oil and gas in foreign financial assets should help ensure the inter-generational balance. Norway’s leading role in fostering international co-operation on fisheries and environmental management — where problems often extend beyond national boundaries — also reflects an engagement mindful of the needs of present and future generations. Within the country, the government has succeeded in reducing the emissions of a large number of pollutants. But measures still need to become more ...

The sustainable education campus project for San Agustín de Guadalix is based on an innovative concept of urbanism and architecture. The campus design and landscape aim to support training and exemplify sustainability.
French

This Policy Paper summarises key messages from the case study on European Union payments to Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau for the conservation of marine protected areas under the Fisheries Partnership Agreements. The detailed case study is available in the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform. A separate “Policy Highlights” brochure, which distils key messages and lessons learned from the full report is also available.

Countries that are candidates for European Union (EU) accession face the complex and urgent task of building administrative institutions so that they can fulfil the “Copenhagen criteria”. Such institutions must be able to implement the acquis communautaire within tight budget constraints and ensure favourable conditions for a competitive private sector. They must also provide candidate countries with the institutional capacity to participate effectively in future policy-making within the European Union upon accession. This paper lays out basic principles, tools and issues for building institutions. The target audience includes all those involved in Institution Building within candidate countries, EU Member States, the European Commission and the aid community. The paper highlights the issues associated with building effective institutions while providing concrete examples of how Member States and candidate countries have responded to such challenges. The definition of a number of key terms (in bold type) are provided in the Annex together with links to additional sources of information (SIGMA and PUMA publications as well as relevant web sites).
French

This report presents new data on, and a comprehensive, cross-sectoral analysis of Cabo Verde's ocean economy. It examines economic and sustainability trends, assesses the country’s ocean governance architecture, and explores policies and financing instruments for a more sustainable ocean economy. In light of the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, the report suggests that Official Development Assistance and other innovative financing mechanisms be maximised to make the ocean a driver for a resilient and inclusive recovery.

Indonesia is located in one of the world’s richest regions in terms of ocean resources, as well as one of the most affected ones from increasing pollution and degradation of marine ecosystems. Ocean-based sectors - such as fisheries, marine aquaculture and tourism - have contributed to the country’s economic dynamism over the past two decades. The impacts from COVID-19, however, are laying bare the need for Indonesia to enhance the resilience and sustainability of its ocean-based sectors as a way to set more solidly on a path of sustainable and inclusive development. This Sustainable Ocean Economy Country Diagnostics of Indonesia provides a compass for understanding the complexity of Indonesia’s ocean economy and for enhancing the economic, social, and environmental benefits from a more sustainable ocean economy. It focusses on three analytical pillars: (i) Economic trends of Indonesia’s ocean economy; (ii) Governance frameworks and policy tools to foster a more sustainable ocean economy; and (iii) Financing instruments and flows, with a focus on development finance. This Sustainable Ocean Economy Country Diagnostics of Indonesia is part of the OECD Sustainable Ocean for All Initiative, designed to support developing countries address the increasing pressures on marine and coastal ecosystems (e.g. from pollution, over-fishing, climate change, etc.) and chart a new course for sustainable development through the conservation and sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources.

Global biofuel production has been increasing rapidly over the last decade, but the expanding biofuel industry has recently raised important concerns. In particular, the sustainability of many first-generation biofuels – which are produced primarily from food crops such as grains, sugar cane and vegetable oils – has been increasingly questioned over concerns such as reported displacement of food-crops, effects on the environment and climate change. In general, there is growing consensus that if significant emission reductions in the transport sector are to be achieved, biofuel technologies must become more efficient in terms of net lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions while at the same time be socially and environmentally sustainable. It is increasingly understood that most first-generation biofuels, with the exception of sugar cane ethanol, will likely have a limited role in the future transport fuel mix. The increasing criticism of the sustainability of many first-generation biofuels has raised attention to the potential of so-called second-generation biofuels. Depending on the feedstock choice and the cultivation technique, second-generation biofuel production has the potential to provide benefits such as consuming waste residues and making use of abandoned land. In this way, the new fuels could offer considerable potential to promote rural development and improve economic conditions in emerging and developing regions. However, while second-generation biofuel crops and production technologies are more efficient, their production could become unsustainable if they compete with food crops for available land. Thus, their sustainability will depend on whether producers comply with criteria like minimum lifecycle GHG reductions, including land use change, and social standards.
This document intends to provide a discussion of issues related to tourism and local development in Apulia region (Italy), an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current practices in related policy implementation, and recommendations and guidance on how the Apulia Government can establish and implement a successful sustainable tourism and local development strategy in the Region.

Large current account deficits are often assumed to play an important role in the propagation of financial crises in emerging markets in receipt of heavy private capital inflows. This paper reaches some major conclusions. First, the Lawson Doctrine — according to which current account deficits that result from a shift in private-sector behaviour should not be a public policy concern — has been discredited by recent currency crises in Latin America and Asia. Second, it is possible to define the size of current account deficits that should be sustainable in the long run. Third, the intertemporal approach to the current account does not provide a reliable benchmark to define when deficits become “excessive”. Fourth, large external deficits should be resisted if unsustainable currency appreciation, excessive risk-taking in the banking system and a sharp drop in private savings are seen to coincide ...

Good quality and sustainable infrastructure that meets the needs of women, men, children, minorities, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups is essential for human well-being, economic growth and environmental sustainability. This Policy Paper shows how women and men may use infrastructure differently according to their needs, social roles or preferences. Building on OECD policy tools and several axes of work, it provides a framework to help countries align their infrastructure policies and projects with other societal and environmental goals, including supporting gender equality.

Consumers only occasionally choose to buy sustainable products. At the same time these consumers say in surveys that sustainability is important to them, and that the government should promote sustainable consumption. Most likely, a social dilemma is at play here. Everyone would be better off if we all consume sustainably; but because of the higher prices for sustainable products, there is an incentive for each individual to leave sustainability efforts to others. Government measures to promote sustainable consumption would resolve the social dilemma. But do consumers really want to increase sustainability? This study takes a closer look at public support for sustainable consumption and the associated dilemmas, with the help of a behavioural economics experiment of group decisions. In the experiment, participants had to decide whether they were willing to buy more sustainable varieties of meat or chocolate instead of less sustainable conventional varieties. They actually had to buy the product agreed upon for one week. The results show that a large number of participants, who did not usually buy sustainable products, were willing to commit to buying sustainable products. This gap may partially be explained by ‘conditional cooperation’ phenomena. In addition participants appear insensitive to the size of the collective benefit. However, the participants in our experiment seem to have difficulties to force others to buy sustainable products. They seem to be caught in a moral dilemma in which they weigh the feel-good effect of contributing to a collective good against the higher individual costs of buying sustainable products and forcing others to do so. Also we found that the preference of the participants for, or dislike of, a measure beforehand did not say much about their appreciation of the measure afterwards. Based on the results we draw the following policy conclusions. Since consumers do not always act in accordance with their values, the presently low market shares of sustainable products do not adequately reflect consumer support for government policy to promote sustainable consumption. To stimulate consumption of sustainable products, it may be useful to emphasize the feel-good effect (‘warm glow’) of individual contributions to sustainability. Furthermore, the government could make use of the fact that most consumers are ‘conditionally cooperative’, e.g. by convincing individual consumers that enough others are switching to sustainable products, too. In this context, it appears that consumers prefer ‘soft’ incentive measures (e.g. subsidies) over ‘hard’ restrictive regulations, even if their individual financial benefit from the former will be smaller. The freedom of choice is apparently worth it. However, rules and regulations, even in the form of bans of less sustainable product varieties, can be acceptable and more effective – as long as the government takes the lead in setting up these rules and regulations.

The Partnerships pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cuts across all the goals focusing on the mobilisation of resources needed to implement the agenda.
Thailand’s “sufficiency economy philosophy” encourages the prioritisation of long-term sustainability over short-term benefits. As such, Thailand has a long history of fiscal prudence that has served the country well in times of economic and political instability. However, relying on current fiscal buffers to finance foreseeable expenditure pressures is not sufficient or sustainable. A rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce will weigh on future public finances and on the ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
To ensure that Thailand is well placed over the medium term to meet growing social, environmental and infrastructure requirements, the government should: (i) increase tax revenues by broadening the tax base and enhancing collection efficiency; (ii) facilitate greater private sector investment in productive infrastructure; and (iii) reform the healthcare and pension systems to increase their efficiency and effectiveness.
This Working Paper relates to the Initial Assessment report of the Multi-dimensional Country Review of Thailand. (http://www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/multi-dimensional-review-thailand.htm)

In today’s changing global landscape, investors are increasingly seeking exposure to sustainable strategies. Examples of these include ESG funds and green bonds.

French

In a climate of heightened debt vulnerabilities, countries in sub-Saharan Africa struggle to fill the gap in infrastructure finance, which is paramount to achieving their sustainable development objectives. At the same time, the infrastructure financing landscape in the region has become increasingly diverse and challenging to navigate. This paper reviews the role of Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members in supporting countries to address mounting infrastructure needs while avoiding and mitigating potential debt crises.

The first part of the paper provides an overview of the infrastructure needs in sub-Saharan Africa. The second part presents the changes in infrastructure financing, highlighting the dominant roles of domestic government and non-DAC lenders. The third part explains how infrastructure finance can be a potential driver for the debt build-up in the region; but that the quality of spending and the diversity of financing providers can be mitigating factors. The fourth part includes policy recommendations for DAC members.

A well-functioning labour market is essential to sustain rapid economic growth in the face of population ageing. Priorities are to reverse the rising share of non-regular workers, which has negative implications for both growth and equity, and encourage greater employment of women and youth, who are under-represented in the labour force. Attracting more women to employment requires increasing the availability of childcare, strengthening maternity leave and creating more family-friendly workplaces. Youth employment rates should be boosted by upgrading tertiary education through stronger competition and closer links to enterprises to reduce mismatches. Educational reform should be extended to elementary and secondary schools to enhance efficiency and decrease the burden of private tutoring. The age of retirement of employees should be raised by eliminating mandatory retirement and phasing out the retirement allowance. Active labour market policies should focus on policies to expand human capital rather than wage subsidies.
With inputs of labour and capital slowing, sustaining high growth rates in Korea will increasingly depend on total factor productivity gains, which are in turn driven to a large extent by innovation. While a number of Korean firms are at the world technology frontier in areas such as ICT, the diffusion of technology to lagging sectors is a priority to sustain growth. This paper recommends policies to improve the science and technology system by upgrading the R&D framework, in part through closer linkages between firms, universities and the government, and enhanced intellectual property right protection. Strengthened competition, particularly in the service sector, is needed to promote the diffusion of new technologies. Innovation also requires policies to ensure the supply of high-quality human capital through reforms of tertiary education. This requires a restructuring of the university system through increased competition and deregulation, as well as additional financial resources to improve quality. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of Korea (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/korea).

This paper analyses the reform undertaken by Iceland to avert a looming crisis and restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. The paper outlines the process involved in designing and implementing this reform. It also reflects on the challenges encountered and the environmental, economic and social impacts of the reform. It concludes by discussing some wider lessons learned for other governments seeking to tackle similar environmental problems. This country study draws on the 2017 OECD report The Political Economy of Biodiversity Policy Reform.

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