Slovenia
The paper is the first in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The second paper is titled: ‘The environmental sustainability competence toolbox: From leaving a better planet to our children to leaving better children for our planet’.
This paper first identifies Slovenia’s main well-being challenges, namely to boost productivity and increase performance on economic indicators without compromising its low levels of inequalities in wealth and income, and to strive for better human capital outcomes, including health outcomes and adult skills. Second, the paper assesses the welfare impacts of some structural reforms based on the shadow price of employment, which is equal to 3% of household income. The largest welfare impacts stem from: i) a cut in regulation of the energy, transport and communication sectors; ii) an increase in ALMPs; iii) a cut in the average tax wedge on households; iv) a cut in the minimum wage; v) an increase in the number of weeks of maternity leave; vi) a cut in the replacement rate of unemployment benefits.
Slovenia’s accession to the EU provided a strong impetus to strengthen the country’s waste management policies and practices. It also provided finance for upgrading and constructing waste management infrastructure. This chapter reviews overall use of materials by the Slovenian economy and changes in resource productivity. It also presents trends in the generation and treatment of municipal and manufacturing waste, including hazardous, as well as waste from construction and demolition activities. The chapter takes stock of policy initiatives and legal reforms, including those that aim to reduce waste generation, encourage recycling, and ensure safe disposal of various waste streams. It discusses the environmental and economic implications of recently implemented measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility and a landfill levy, as well as the reform of waste collection charges. Progress in remediating contaminated land is also examined.