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This report synthesises key findings on biodiversity and ecosystem services from the Environmental Performance Reviews completed for Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru between 2013 and 2017. The report aims to provide a sense of the common challenges facing these Latin American countries, the strategies being used to tackle them, the gaps that remain and how these can be addressed. Focusing on Latin America is particularly pertinent given the great wealth of biodiversity in the region and the growing pressures on its conservation and sustainable use.
This report examines the key design and implementation features that need to be considered to ensure that biodiversity offset programmes are environmentally effective, economically efficient, and distributionally equitable. Biodiversity offsets are being increasingly used in a wide range of sectors as a mechanism to help compensate for the adverse effects caused by development projects in a variety of ecosystems. In this report, insights and lessons learned are drawn from more than 40 case studies from around the world, with an additional 3 in-depth country case studies from the United States, Germany and Mexico.
The Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties (CBD COP15) in 2020 marks a critical juncture for one of the defining global challenges of our time: the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, which underpin nearly all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Transformative changes are needed to ensure biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and the delivery of the ecosystem services upon which all life depends. This report sets the economic and business case for urgent and ambitious action on biodiversity. It presents a preliminary assessment of current biodiversity-related finance flows, and discusses the key data and indicator gaps that need to be addressed to underpin effective monitoring of both the pressures on biodiversity and the actions (i.e. responses) being implemented. The report concludes with ten priority areas where G7 and other countries can prioritise their efforts.
The Technology Roadmap Bioenergy for Heat and Power highlights the importance of bioenergy in providing heat in the buildings sector and in industry, and shows what contribution it could make to meeting steadlily growing world electricity demand. The critical role of sustainability as well as the importance of international trade in meeting the projected demand for bioenergy, are highlighted in the roadmap, as well as the need for large-scale biomass plants in providing The roadmap identifies key actions by different stakeholders in the bioenergy sector, and sets out milestones for technology development in order to achieve a doubling of global bioenergy supply by 2050. It addresses the need for further R&D efforts, highlights measures to ensure sustainability of biomass production, and underlines the need for international collaboration to enhance the production and use of sustainable, modern bioenergy in different world regions.
Governments in many OECD countries, as well as in a number of countries outside the OECD area, actively promote the production and use of alternative transport fuels made from agricultural commodities. This report, jointly produced by the OECD and the IEA and drawing on information from a number of other organisations, analyses the implications of this support from various perspectives. The report shows that the high level of policy support contributes little to reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and other policy objectives, while it adds to a range of factors that raise international prices for food commodities. It concludes that there are alternatives to current support policies for biofuels that would more effectively allow governments to achieve their objectives.
Biofuels received USD 15 billion in subsidies in OECD Member countries in 2007, but did they deliver benefits in terms of climate change or oil security? Present policies make no link between support for biofuels and their environmental performance, and biofuels do not all perform equally well. In fact, much of the current ethanol and biodiesel production may result in higher overall emissions of greenhouse gases than using conventional transport fuels - gasoline and diesel. The papers published in this report examine the economics of biofuels and assess the potential of conventional biofuel production in OECD countries, Brazilian ethanol exports and some second generation biofuels to supply world markets with transport fuels.
This Round Table analyses the critical issues for governments in determining support for biofuels, particularly the level of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life-cycle of these fuels and the wider environmental impacts of farming biomass. It also reviews recent progress in developing certification systems for biofuels – an essential tool for tying support to achievement in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, although certification cannot be expected to prevent rainforest destruction for the development of biofuel crop plantations. The report concludes with a short list of recommendations for policy reform if support for biofuels is to contribute effectively to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Biofuels could provide up to 27% of total transport fuel worldwide by 2050. The use of transport fuels from biomass, when produced sustainably, can help cut petroleum use and reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, especially in heavy transport. Sustainable biofuel technologies, in particular advanced biofuels, will play an important role in achieving this roadmap vision.
The roadmap describes the steps necessary to realise this ambitious biofuels target; identifies key actions by different stakeholders, and the role for government policy to adopt measures needed to ensure the sustainable expansion of both conventional and advanced biofuel production.
In the absence of strong government policies, the IEA projects that the worldwide use of oil in transport will nearly double between 2000 and 2030, leading to a similar increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Bio fuels, such as ethanol, bio diesel, and other liquid and gaseous fuels, could offer an important alternative to petroleum over this timeframe and help reduce atmospheric pollution. This book looks at recent trends in bio fuel production and considers what the future might hold if such alternatives were to displace petroleum in transport.
This report complements earlier OECD work on liquid biofuels and provides information on biomass based heat and power, as well as on biogas. It discusses the heterogeneous portfolio of different biomass feedstocks, conversion technologies, and pathways of utilisation. It also shows that governments in many countries provide substantial support to the production and use of renewable energy in general, and bioenergy in particular; these support measures are highly diverse and are given at national and various sub-national levels.
The results of a large number of life-cycle analyses of various bioheat and biopower chains reviewed in this study indicate that the objective to reduce GHG emissions and fossil energy use is met; indeed the savings estimated for most chains are substantial when compared to fossil alternatives. At present, most of the chains examined do not compete with food and feed production, and thus the implications for agricultural markets are small. It is clear, however, that if a stronger focus on agricultural biomass crops is to be developed, this will require careful design of support policies so as to avoid compromising the ability of the agricultural sector to provide food and feed in a sustainable manner.
Biotechnology and the genomics revolution are changing our world’s scientific-technological and socio-economic framework. A new type of raw material – one invisible to the naked eye – will become the essential ingredient of the life sciences and biotechnology and of our future: it is the living cell – human, animal, plant or microbial – and the genes it contains. Who keeps, owns, distributes and sells this raw material? Who has access to it? What are the ethical implications of dealing with human cells and DNA? This book sheds light on many of these questions. It identifies the main challenges and how they can be met.
These are the proceedings of the OECD Workshop on Biomass and Agriculture held in June 2003. The Workshop covered two broad themes: the contribution of agricultural biomass to sustainability; and the policy approaches for developing agricultural biomass. The book proposes a wealth of material relating to agricultural biomass, bio energy and biomaterials in OECD countries. It is hoped that this will contribute to the current and future debate on agricultural biomass, particularly in the context of agricultural policy reform and the advancement of policies for sustainable development.
Micro-organisms play a fundamental role in the environment. Yet their role is the result of complex biogeochemical processes by consortia of micro-organisms and the function of individual species is not clear in many cases.
This publication provides an overview of the current situation and relevant developments in environmental microbiology, as well as its potential application, which covers: use of micro-organisms for agriculture, production purposes, bioremediation, and cleaning purpose; environmental applications of microbial symbionts of insects; and environmental risk/safety assessment of the deliberate release of engineered micro-organisms.
If present trends in fertility and life expectancy continue, between one quarter and one third of the population in OECD countries will be over 65 years by 2025. The ageing population will have profound social and economic implications. Not surprisingly, countries are searching for ways to promote healthy ageing.
The OECD Workshop on Healthy Ageing and Biotechnology, held in November 2000 in Tokyo, brought together an interdisciplinary group of world experts in molecular biology, geriatrics, epidemiology, health economics, ethics and health policy. Their perspectives are the subject of this book and collectively help provide a better understanding of the issues and relative contribution that biotechnological solutions will make to the promotion of healthy ageing.
Please note that this title is only available on line, in pdf format.
Industrial biotechnology has come of age: after decades spent in the shadow of two better-known fields, health and agro-food biotechnology, it has emerged into a world where environmental sustainability has become a global concern. However, sustainability and "clean" industrial processes will not be achieved without a stream of innovations based on science and technology, among which biotechnology will play an important role.
This report illustrates how modern process biotechnology is penetrating industrial operations, and highlights its environmental and economic advantages over other technologies. It identifies technical and other bottlenecks, but also emphasizes that industry and governments must act together to address the challenges of industrial sustainability.
The Black Sea region lies at the crossroads of major oil and gas export streams to the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Energy projects in the Caspian states depend vitally on the possibility of moving oil and gas out of the region. The Black Sea and its riparian states form a vital transit route. This is the first study of the Black Sea region as a whole, its energy needs and how future oil and gas transport in the region could develop. The Black Sea Energy Survey complements the previous IEA study on Caspian Oil and Gas. It reviews the energy policies and sectors of seven countries with diverse energy situations. Azerbaijan is a major oil producer and exporter, Armenia and Georgia are energy-poor, Bulgaria and Romania are EU accession candidates which must restructure their domestic oil and coal industries, while Greece and Turkey are IEA Member states. This study covers energy strategies, institutions and restructuring, as well as recent and projected energy trends in these countries. The book analyses the reforms that are still needed to attract significant investment, both into domestic energy projects and regional energy trade.
This book analyses the opportunities and conditions of employment throughout the Black Sea region and Central Asia. It examines how different countries deal with social issues affecting well-being. It presents, thus, both a country-based view and a whole-region analysis that will be useful for policy makers and civil society in responding to the challenges ahead. Countries covered include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
The world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs) are among those most at risk of being left behind. While official development assistance and domestic public resources remain essential for their development prospects, they alone will not be sufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. With the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the international community acknowledged the need for significant additional public and private finance, and development partners are increasingly focusing on blended approaches.
What are the trends in blended finance for LDCs? What can it achieve and how? The OECD and UNCDF are working together to shed new light on these issues. Building on a 2018 publication, this edition presents the latest data available on private finance mobilised in developing countries by official development finance, extending the previous analysis to cover 2016 and 2017 as well as longer-term trends from 2012 to 2017. It discusses the most recent international policy trends shaping the blended finance market, and what these might mean for LDCs. Stakeholders and practitioners also share their views on the challenges and opportunities in designing and implementing blended finance operations in LDCs.
The least developed countries (LDCs) are the furthest from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are also likely to be hit the hardest by the COVID-19 crisis and badly need the additional private finance that blended finance can unlock. Yet evidence shows that too little private finance is mobilised for investment in LDCs. How can this be fixed?
The Blended Finance in the Least Developed Countries 2020 report is the third edition and second joint UNCDF-OECD report. It builds on UNCDF research and transactional experience, OECD data and analysis on private finance mobilized by official development finance, and a series consultations with and contributions by blended finance experts, LDC governments, UN missions, donors, civil society and research institutions. The report provides an update on the deployment of blended finance in LDCs. It also analyses its potential role in helping those countries recover from the COVID-19 crisis, and provides an Action Agenda for unlocking capital for the achievement of the SDGs in LDCs, as called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
The scope of this Emissions Scenario Document includes the blending of fine and functional fragrance oils into consumer and commercial products. The manufacture of aroma chemicals and the formulation of fragrance oil are outside the scope of this scenario. However, these industrial operations are discussed in this section as an introduction to the fragrance industry as a whole. The following life-cycle diagram demonstrates the applicability of this scenario.
This report addresses the corporate governance framework and company practices that determine the nomination and election of board members. It covers some 26 jurisdictions including in-depth reviews of four jurisdictions: Indonesia, Korea, the Netherlands and the United States.