More than 27% of total carbon dioxide emissions in OECD countries is produced by the transport sector, and there are still few signs that transportation energy use is peaking. Without new action, the prospects for reductions in CO2 emissions from this sector look bleak. This report reviews transport-related CO2 abatement policies in six IEA countries: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The report focuses on past, recent and potential future policies and the policy context in each country. It provides a comprehensive description of selected key policy elements. A separate IEA report, which will be published early next year, will offer quantitative estimates of a major element in transport climate-change policy – the potential for reducing CO2 emissions by improving the fuel efficiency of passenger cars.
The price of water is a key determinant of both the economic efficiency and the environmental effectiveness of water services. This book reviews current practices and recent trends in water pricing practices for the household, agriculture, and industrial sectors in OECD countries. It addresses pricing issues related to the full range of water services, including public supplies, sewage treatment and disposal, abstraction and discharge fees, and cost recovery. It also outlines recent developments in institutional arrangements related to water pricing, and briefly considers questions concerning the affordability of water services and the responsiveness of water demands to changes in price levels. Its broad coverage of issues, sectors, and countries makes it a unique overview of trends in the water pricing field.
As the Polluter-Pays Principle is a fundamental principle of cost allocation, its analysis covers a substantial part of the vast field of environmental resource allocation.
This report, originally published in 1975, presents a selection of relevant theoretical and practical analyses now that the Polluter-Pays Principle must be regarded as a mainstay of Member countries’ environmental policies.
First, in the matter of definitions of the Polluter-Pays Principle, the definition officially adopted by the OECD is outlined, together with an answer to the questions which consequently arise.
With regard to analysis of the Polluter-Pays Principle, one study deals in detail with the economic foundations of the Principle and possible effects of its application, such as on behaviour of the polluting firm.
Lastly, the important problem of implementing the PolluterPays Principle is discussed at some length.
Based on experience in OECD countries, this book provides a comprehensive discussion of the effectiveness of environmentally related taxes, of recent research on the environmental and economic impacts of applying them, an on their potential for wider use. In particular, it looks at how to overcome obstacles to their implementation. It also discusses the environmental and economic effects of combining such taxes with other instruments for environmetal policy.
This report provides insights on the political economy of biodiversity related policy reforms. It draws on existing literature and four new case studies covering the French tax on pesticides, agricultural subsidy reform in Switzerland, EU payments to Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau to finance marine protected areas via conservation trust funds, and individually transferable quotas for fisheries in Iceland. Each case study focusses on the drivers of reform, the types of obstacles encountered, key features of the policy reform, and the lessons learned from the reform experience.
This report explores the growth prospects for the ocean economy, its capacity for future employment creation and innovation, and its role in addressing global challenges. Special attention is devoted to the emerging ocean-based industries in light of their high growth and innovation potential, and contribution to addressing challenges such as energy security, environment, climate change and food security.
The report examines the risks and uncertainties surrounding the future development of ocean industries, the innovations required in science and technology to support their progress, their potential contribution to green growth and some of the implications for ocean management. Finally, and looking across the future ocean economy as a whole, it explores possible avenues for action that could boost its long-term development prospects while managing the use of the ocean itself in responsible, sustainable ways.
The OECD “Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy” (RE-CIRCLE) project provides policy guidance on resource efficiency and the transition to a circular economy. The RE-CIRCLE project is structured around two complementary work packages toward sound evidence-based policy recommendations. It aims to identify and quantify the impact of resource-efficient, circular economy policies to guide a range of stakeholders in OECD member countries and emerging market economies through quantitative and qualitative analysis. The project is embedded in on-going work by the OECD on resource efficiency and the transition to a circular economy. This paper provides policy recommendations stemming from the OECD’s work on the RE-CIRCLE project as well as from some of the major other recent OECD publications that directly relate to the topic.
This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the “next production revolution”. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial biotechnology, 3D printing, new materials and nanotechnology. Some of these technologies are already used in production, while others will be available in the near future. All are developing rapidly. As these technologies transform the production and the distribution of goods and services, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, well-being and the environment. The more that governments and firms understand how production could develop in the near future, the better placed they will be to address the risks and reap the benefits.
Energy use patterns and trends are shaped by the decisions of hundreds of millions of individuals, households, and organisations. Understanding this complex fabric of energy use, and the consequent carbon dioxide emissions, is vital to developing effective policies in support of energy security, economic prosperity, and environmental protection. This book illustrates how indicators can extract from that fabric the most important links among energy uses, behaviour, the economy, and government policy. It explains how energy use has evolved in the past and what is influencing it now, and provides insights on what could shape it in the future. This represents an important step in better understanding the link between energy use and human activity.
This report contributes to the discussion of interconnections between scarce resources by highlighting the nexus between land, water and energy (the LWE nexus). It focuses on a dynamic, integrated, and disaggregated analysis of how land, water and energy interact in the biophysical and economic systems. The report provides projections for the biophysical and economic consequences of nexus bottlenecks until 2060, highlighting that while the LWE nexus is essentially local, there can be significant large-scale repercussions in vulnerable regions, notably on forest cover and in terms of food and water security.
The analysis is based on coupling a gridded biophysical systems model with a multi-regional, multi-sectoral dynamic general equilibrium modelling assessment. Numerical insights are provided by investigating a carefully selected set of scenarios that are designed to illustrate the key bottlenecks: one scenario for each resource bottleneck, plus two scenarios that combine all bottlenecks, with and without an overlay of climate change.
Wildlife crime poses a serious and irrefutable risk to global biodiversity and is a driver of the current global extinction crisis. Southeast Asia accounts for up to a quarter of global demand for illegal wildlife products, and is also both a source and transit region for this transnational trade. This report examines the governance frameworks for countering illegal wildlife trade in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. After assessing the effectiveness of several responses to wildlife crime in these countries, the report provides recommendations for strengthening the capacities of the institutions involved and improving strategies to counter illegal wildlife trade.
The iron and steel sector accounts for almost 8% of global emissions, making it one of the highest emitting industry sectors with around 30% of industrial carbon emissions. Decarbonising the steel sector is therefore key to achieving climate goals. This report, prepared for the 2023 Japanese G7 Presidency, demonstrates that considering the heterogeneity of steel industries is vital for reaching climate goals and for a just and inclusive transition to a low-carbon future. The report maps the heterogeneity of global steel industries, highlighting the differences between them in key areas relevant to decarbonisation. Additionally, it examines how these differences should be considered when developing definitions for near-zero and low-emissions steel production, as well as emissions measurement methodologies and data collection frameworks.
This document provides guidance on how to use the OECD (Q)SAR Application Toolbox to build chemical categories according to the OECD Guidance on Grouping of Chemicals. It is part of an overall effort to provide guidance on the use of the (Q)SAR Application Toolbox.
Prague is a vibrant and growing city facing significant land-use pressures related to rapid peri-urban growth. This report examines land use and governance trends in Prague and the broader metropolitan area, including the formal elements of the planning system and broader governance arrangements such as rural-urban partnerships. It provides a number of recommendations to ensure the sustainable development of regional transportation and infrastructure, affordable housing and quality public amenities.
This report examines land-use trends, policies and practices in Korea, in particular in the city of Busan, through the lens of urban regeneration and citizen participation. Land-use planning is critical for the efficient and inclusive management of cities, pursuing sustainable and balanced development and improving quality of life and regional competitiveness. Korea has benefitted from comprehensive and well-structured, hierarchical land-use planning and urban regeneration frameworks. However, faced with a series of demographic and economic challenges, together with geographic factors and historical developments, Korea needs to re-evaluate land-use management and urban regeneration to leverage inclusive growth and boost competitiveness in Korean cities. This report argues that involving citizens in land-use planning and urban regeneration is essential to collect better quality information as a basis for plans, decisions and outcomes. This report is of relevant to urban planners, land use especialists, and city managers who work on urban regeneration projects and citizens’ participation.
In preparation for their 1998 Plenary meeting, the members of the IEA’s Coal Industry Advisory Board prepared individual papers addressing the key issues facing the coal industry at this challenging time. The result is a collection of unique perceptions on the future role of coal from the leaders of the industry. They provide a valuable, first-hand insight into the views and concerns of the coal industry as it faces a rapidly changing market due to: ? uncertainties within the electricity generating industry, which in turn are a result of the continuing transition to a liberalised electricity market and of unanswered questions about the final structure, shape and regulatory framework of this market; ? increasing environmental commitments by governments, especially in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Coal, with its ample, cost-effective and geographically diverse reserves, has traditionally been a major factor in energy security and price stability. Is this important role now under threat? How does the coal industry itself see its market evolving? What are the industry’s views of the role of coal in a future where carbon emissions are strictly limited? Important questions with thought-provoking responses in this challenging collection of individual papers from the IEA’s Coal Industry Advisory Board.
In recent years, a significant number of OECD member countries have introduced initiatives to reduce the environmentally damaging effects of public procurement. Many countries have introduced "greener public purchasing" (GPP) policies in order to increase the recycled content of products or achieve specified levels of energy efficiency in capital equipment. This book examines these issues in detail. It is the outcome of a Workshop on "Greener Public Purchasing", held at the Austrian Ministry of the Environment in Vienna in October 2001.