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Education at a Glance - OECD Indicators 2000 provides a rich and up-to-date array of indicators representing the consensus of professional thinking on how to measure the current state of education internationally. They provide information on the human and financial resources invested in education, on how education and learning systems operate and evolve, and on the returns to educational investments. The thematic organisation of the volume and the background information accompanying the tables and charts make this publication a valuable resource for anyone interested in analysing education systems across countries.

This year’s edition of Education at a Glance takes a further step towards reporting internationally comparable data on lifelong learning and its impact on society and the economy. It also provides new insights into the financing of education, with a focus on public subsidies and transfers for education and their beneficiaries. New indicators also reflect on international student mobility, participation in skill improvement among the employed population and students with special educational needs.

Finally, for many indicators, more countries are now providing data. Through the World Education Indicators programme, a wide range of non-Member countries have also contributed to this year's edition of Education at a Glance, extending the coverage of some of the indicators to almost two-thirds of the world population.

Die Umsetzung einer am Menschen orientierten, ergebnisbezogenen Partnerschaft, die die von der Bevölkerung der Entwicklungsländer selbst getragenen Bemühungen fördert und unterstützt, stellt nach wie vor die grundlegende Herausforderung dar. In diesem Bericht werden die von den DAC-Mitgliedern unternommenen Bemühungen geschildert, die darauf abzielen, die Umsetzung der Partnerschaftsstrategien weiter voranzutreiben. Hierbei wird einerseits auf die sich derzeit abzeichnenden entwicklungspolitischen Fortschritte und die voraussichtlichen weiteren Initiativen eingegangen, andererseits aber auch auf die beunruhigende Tatsache der weiter sinkenden Trends der ODA-Leistungen der größeren Geber im Jahr 1997 wie auch auf die erstmals in diesem Jahrzehnt zu verzeichnende Gesamtabnahme der privaten Leistungen an alle Kategorien von Entwicklungsländern.

The International Energy Agency's 2000 review of Portugal's energy policies and programmes. It finds that Portugal produces little energy, all of it from renewable sources. But Portugal’s energy consumption is growing apace, and the country is increasingly dependent on imported energy. Portugal’s energy companies have been restructured and the government has begun the process of privatising them. In April 1999, the government set up a holding company called “Petróleos e Gás de Portugal, SGPS, S.A.” (GALP) combining Gás de Portugal and Petrogal, the national oil and gas companies. The aim is to create an enterprise large enough to compete in the Iberian market, then gradually to privatise it. The electricity law of 1995 divided the electricity market into two segments: one competitive, the other centralised and non-competitive. By 1999, the competitive segment was still not functioning adequately. This report recommends measures to achieve effective competition. The addition of natural gas to the Portuguese energy mix in 1997 has helped diversify Portugal’s energy sources and contributes to the mitigation of environmental problems. Security of gas supply remains an important issue, since Portugal depends on only one single source. Because the gas market is so new, the European Directive permits Lisbon to delay making it a competitive market until 2008. The report recommends a clear schedule for the implementation of competition. Portugal is working to reduce the sharp growth in energy use and CO2 emissions. But both continue to increase rapidly. If Portugal is to limit the increase in greenhouse gas emissions to 27% above 1990, as it has undertaken to do under the Kyoto Protocol, it will need to take further measures.

The International Energy Agency's 2000 review of Canada's energy policies and programmes. It finds that successful regulatory reform of the gas market has contributed to rapid growth in exports of gas to the US. Encouraged by potential trade benefits flowing from regulatory reform of the electricity market, and benefits flowing to Canadian consumers, some provinces have also undertaken major regulatory reform of the electricity industries in their jurisdictions. Development of Canada’s huge resources of oil sands and heavy oil have supplemented continuing development of conventional oil. These developments combined with rapid economic and population growth have posed policy challenges for Canadian governments in several areas. This report discusses the issues arising for policy makers, including the process currently underway in Canada to develop a national implementation strategy to meet the national target for greenhouse gas emissions, and progress in improving the efficient use of energy. Federal-provincial co-operation is essential for successful energy policy development and implementation in Canada. The report makes recommendations in several policy areas where co-operative action appears necessary, notably to encourage the development of regional energy markets which would bring together existing provincial reform policies and widen their scope to other provinces where market reforms have made less progress. The report looks comprehensively at the Canadian energy sector and also includes description and analysis of nuclear power, renewable energy sources and energy resource industries such as uranium and coal as well as oil and gas.

The fact that market experience improves performance and reduces prices is well known and widely exploited in technology-intensive industries, but sparsely used in analysis for energy technology policy. Knowledge of the “experience effect” can help in the design of efficient programmes for deploying of environment-friendly technologies. The effect must be taken into account when estimating the future costs of achieving targets, including targets for carbon dioxide reduction. This book discusses issues raised by the “experience effect”, such as price-cost cycles, competition for learning opportunities in the market, risk of “technology lockout” and the effects of research, development and deployment policies on technology learning. Case studies illustrate how experience curves can be used to set policy targets and to design policy measures that will encourage both investment in and use of environment-friendly energy technologies. Low-cost paths to stabilising CO2 emissions are explored.

This report supplements the December 1999 edition of External Debt Statistics, which provides figures for debt stocks for 1997 and 1998. This supplement presents time series going back to the mid-1980s for detailed debt service and debt stock data for both major country groups and 173 individual countries and territories. In addition, it provides data on net resource flows to major country groups.
These data are reported to the OECD by the governments and credit institutions of its Member countries, and the main international organisations. Common reporting rules allow for a comprehensive and consistent account of external debt. This publication is therefore invaluable for international comparisons and country risk analysis.

Contains a major international compilation of energy prices of all market levels: import prices, industry prices and consumer prices. The statistics cover main petroleum products, gas, coal, and electricity, giving for imported products on average price both for importing country and country of origin. Every issue includes full notes on sources and methods and a description of price mechanisms in each country.

Severe environmental problems were a key issue in the protests that marked the end of communist regimes in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This groundbreaking book provides new insights into the interaction between economic policy reforms, environmental protection efforts and environmental conditions in the region's subsequent transition to market-based economies and democratic societies over the past eight to ten years. The unique contribution of the book is its synthesis of a vast amount of information and cumulative experience together with detailed examples and case studies to provide a coherent analysis of the challenges and achievements in institutional strengthening and policy reform, environmental policy instruments, environmental financing, and environmental management in enterprises. It also reviews the development of domestic public participation and international co-operation for the safeguarding of the region's environment and discusses trends in industrial pollution and biodiversity protection.
The book shows that economic reforms provided a crucial stimulus for environmental improvement, leading to reductions in high pollution levels. Moreover, several countries have strengthened their domestic environmental policies, institutions, and financing, resulting in further improvements. Nonetheless, many serious problems remain, and others have grown worse over the transition period: in many countries of the former Soviet Union in particular, economic crises and political stagnation have impeded environmental protection efforts. Continued partnerships between governments of the region, OECD donor countries, international financial institutions and organisations, environmental NGOs, businesses and trade unions, as well as public support for these, will be essential to reinforce the environmental improvements achieved thus far.

This volume contains data on the supply and consumption of coal, oil, gas, electricity, heat, combustible renewables and waste in energy balances. The figures are expressed in million tonnes of oil equivalent. Historical tables summarise key energy and economic indicators as well as production, trade and final consumption data. The book includes definitions of products and flows. There are explanatory notes on the individual country data and conversion factors from original units to tonnes of oil equivalent. Key indicators have been provided since 1960. More detailed data in original units are published in Energy Statistics of OECD Countries 1997-1998, the sister volume of this publication.

How will the introduction of electricity market competition affect power generation and transmission technology? Which technologies are most likely to receive a push from competitive markets? These are the questions examined in this review, which considers a wide range of options in both generation and transmission. Competition strengthens the search for the most cost-effective technologies. All electricity generation technologies are affected: those for existing and new plants as well as those for improving capital and operating efficiency. In existing plants, reliability, life extension, operating flexibility and demand-side technology are some of the major factors of change. In new plants, gas turbines are set to continue their growth, but there is still a place for conventional steam and other power plants. New government policies for technology support and environmental protection also have a role in evolving technological choices when competition is introduced.

This volume contains data on energy supply and consumption in original units for coal, oil, gas, electricity, heat, combustible renewables and waste. Historical tables summarise data on production, trade and final consumption of hard coal, brown coal, oil, natural gas and electricity. The book includes definitions of products and flows and explanatory notes on the individual country data.

Within the foreseeable future, refrigerators will be using 30% less electricity in some countries. Homes in the United States will be emitting 4% less carbon dioxide. Dozens of other common energy-using products will have become cleaner and more energy efficient. And all because of the growing use of energy labels and standards in industrialised countries. Energy labels and standards are only one way in which governments can diminish energy use, improve performance and slash greenhouse gas emissions. But they have proved remarkably effective, and their use is steadily spreading. This report by the International Energy Agency chronicles a number of success stories and offers suggestions on how they can be replicated. This study, the first in a planned series of Energy Efficiency Policy Profiles, analyses existing programmes, provides guidance for programmes now under consideration and points the way to possible international collaboration. It highlights the key elements in successful programmes.

The International Energy Agency's 2000 review of the Netherlands' energy policies and programmes. It finds that Dutch citizens are very environmentally minded. They are prepared to pay extra for clean and renewable energy to meet the national climate commitments. The government has set ambitious targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and increasing the share of renewables in the energy market. The Netherlands aims at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million tonnes by 2010, and at raising the share of renewables from 1% in 1995 to 10% in 2020. The government has put together a programme that can achieve this – as well as a back-up plan if the target is not reached, and a plan for the long term. But efficient markets are also important to the Dutch. In the electricity and gas industries, full retail competition is to be introduced on an accelerated schedule in 2004. Since competition was introduced into the power market in 1998, the necessary institutions and secondary legislation have been put in place, making the market highly competitive. Three out of the four large generators in the country have been sold to foreign utility investors. There is room for improvement in the rules for the allocation of interconnector capacity, to be found in co-operation with the Netherlands’ European neighbours.

The International Energy Agency's 2000 review of France's energy policies and programmes. It finds that France tries to achieve three major objectives in its energy policy: security of supply, environmental protection and low-cost energy for its economy and citizens, notably through its vast nuclear programme. The French have been generally successful, in particular in ensuring a secure energy supply – a high priority for the country, which has only minor energy resources. French energy policy is also based on a strong public service tradition, a notion that leads it to address market failures as well as to pursue social, regional and territorial objectives. France is on the way towards instituting regulatory reform to comply with the EU directives on electricity and gas. This reform will have a major influence on the traditional utilities Électricité de France (EDF) and Gaz de France (GDF) that dominate the markets. Introducing competition while meeting public service concerns is a challenge for the French government. For example, full geographical uniformity of tariffs – a public service obligation – creates market distortions by reducing niche markets for renewables. Meeting the Kyoto target is also a challenge for France, since the share of nuclear energy in its power generation is expected to decline in the future.

Technology can make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector. But it can only do so if efforts to develop and deploy advanced energy technologies are redoubled and if technological advances are combined with measures that discourage the emitting of carbon by making it more expensive. Efforts with a near-term focus are needed, but so is work that will only bear fruit years from today. Both are vital. Both must start now and continue over time. Government and industry both have indispensable roles in the task of maximising energy technology’s contribution to emissions reduction. This report is a call to action to IEA Member countries to find ways, compatible with their own circumstances, to achieve that end. It reviews a large number of technologies that could prove important in reducing energy-related emissions in both the near and long term. It points out how the availability of advanced energy technology can mitigate the cost of emissions reduction, and it outlines how traditional “barriers” to using new technology can be overcome. It deals directly with the issue of what governments can do in this area and points out where government action is needed. The report builds on two previous IEA reports – Energy Technologies for the 21st Century and IEA/OECD Scoping Study: Energy and Environmental Technologies to Respond to Global Climate Change Concerns.