Browse by: "2022"
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States of Fragility 2022 arrives during an ‘age of crises’, where multiple, concurring crises are disproportionately affecting the 60 fragile contexts identified in this year’s report. Chief among these crises are COVID-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and climate change, with the root causes of multidimensional fragility playing a central role in shaping their scale and severity. The report outlines the state of fragility in 2022, reviews current responses to it, and presents options to guide better policies for better lives in fragile contexts. At the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is more critical than ever for development partners to focus on the furthest behind: the 1.9 billion people in fragile contexts that account for 24% of the world’s population but 73% of the world’s extreme poor.
This Detailed Review Paper (DRP) aims to present and discuss the application and interpretation of in vitro immunotoxicity assays, mainly covering immunosuppression, and to define an in vitro tiered approach to testing and assessment. A well-functioning immune system is essential for maintaining the integrity of an organism. Immune cells are an integral part of other systems including the respiratory, dermal, gastrointestinal, neurological, cardiovascular, reproductive, hepatobiliary, musculoskeletal system, and endocrine systems. As such, exposure to immunotoxic compounds can have serious adverse health consequences affecting responses to both communicable and non-communicable diseases. It is therefore important to understand the immunotoxic potential of xenobiotics and the risk(s) they pose to humans.
The bacterial reverse gene mutation test described in OECD Test Guideline 471 is the most widely used in vitro test for the detection of mutagenicity. The standard format utilises plate incorporation and/or preincubation method; a test mixture containing bacteria, test chemical, S9-mix, when required, and agar, is plated on 90- to 100-mm plates. Several miniaturised versions of the assay have been developed and are already in use, particularly for early screening of new products, as during research and development, large numbers of chemicals have to be tested that are often only available in low amounts. The primary advantage of these miniaturised versions is a significant reduction of the amount of test material needed to conduct the experiments; some may also allow simultaneous analyses of large number of samples, increasing throughput and reducing resources and cost. The aim of this Detailed Review Paper (DRP) was to evaluate the performance of several types of miniaturised assays, relative to the standard bacterial reverse gene mutation test specified in OECD TG 471. Performance evaluations were based on a retrospective analysis of data provided by well-established genotoxicity testing laboratories.
Society’s dependence on space infrastructure is at a critical juncture. Public and private actors worldwide are planning to launch tens of thousands of satellites into Earth’s orbit in the next five years. This will greatly expand and enrich the use of space resources, but it will also result in more crowded orbits and greater risk of damage from satellite collision and space debris. As satellite launches continue to multiply and concerns grow, the long-term sustainability of space-based infrastructure on orbit and beyond is set to emerge as an increasingly important space policy issue of the 21st century. This publication takes stock of the growing socio-economic dependence of our modern societies on space assets, and the general threats to space-based infrastructure from debris in particular. Notably, it provides fresh insights into the value of space-based infrastructure and the potential costs generated by space debris, drawing on new academic research developed especially for the OECD project on the economics of space sustainability.
Industrial facilities play a major role in environmental consequences as their processes may use large amounts of raw materials and energy, and in return, may release significant amounts of pollutants into the air, water and soil. As part of their operational obligations, industrial facilities are required to meet various regulatory requirements in the form of emission limitations and/or standards of performance and environmental quality objectives at the local level. This report is a cross-country analysis of BREFs for three selected industrial sectors; thermal power plants (TPP), cement production and textile manufacturing. It examines seven BREFs for TPP, five BREFs for cement production, and six BREFs for textile manufacturing from countries/organisations, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, the US, the EU, Belgium (Flanders), and the World Bank. The information received from various jurisdictions may encourage and assist countries in their progress towards developing sector-specific BREFs. Beyond that, this comparative analysis may indicate the areas of possible harmonisation between countries, and also highlight the structures or parts of the BREFs that may need expanding or updating for better environmental impact considerations. This is the sixth in a series of reports developed as part of the OECD’s BAT project.
Le rapport Tendances agrégées du financement climatique fourni et mobilisé par les pays développés en 2013-2020 ajoute des chiffres pour 2020 à la série chronologique 2013-2019 précédemment publiée, fournissant une évaluation au niveau agrégé par rapport à l'année cible initiale de l'objectif de 100 milliards USD. Il comprend également un aperçu du financement climatique fourni et mobilisé par thème climatique, secteur, instrument financier et régions pour 2016-2020. Un deuxième rapport complémentaire fournit des informations supplémentaires à partir de l'analyse des données désagrégées, ainsi que des considérations relatives aux conditions d’investissement, ainsi qu’aux impacts et à l'efficacité du financement climatique.
The report Aggregate Trends of Climate Finance Provided and Mobilised by Developed Countries in 2013-2020 adds figures for 2020 to the previously published 2013-2019 time series, providing an aggregate-level assessment against the initial target year of the USD 100 billion goal. It also includes an overview of climate finance provided and mobilised by climate theme, sector, financial instrument and regions for 2016-2020. A second complementary report provides further insights from disaggregated data analysis, as well as considerations on issues relating to enabling environments, impacts and effectiveness of climate finance.
Au cours de la dernière décennie, le Royaume-Uni a réduit plusieurs pressions environnementales tout en développant son économie. Anticipant sa présidence de la Conférence des parties à la Convention-cadre des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques en 2021, il a montré la voie en relevant ses ambitions nationales. Cependant, la pollution atmosphérique, la détérioration des actifs naturels et les objectifs manqués en matière de biodiversité sont autant de sujets de préoccupation. Des efforts supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour réduire à zéro les émissions nettes de gaz à effet de serre d'ici 2050, se préparer au changement climatique, inverser la perte de biodiversité et mettre en place une économie circulaire plus économe en ressources. Le renforcement de la coordination entre les gouvernements britannique et décentralisés, ainsi que l'amélioration de la cohérence entre les politiques sectorielles et environnementales seront essentiels.
Ceci est le troisième Examen environnemental du Royaume-Uni. Il évalue les progrès réalisés vers la croissance verte, avec un chapitre spécial consacré à la gestion des déchets et des matières et l'économie circulaire. La présente version abrégée contient le résumé, de même que l’évaluation et les recommandations officielles du rapport. Le rapport complet est disponible en anglais sur le site web de l’OCDE.
Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a quality system concerned with the organisational process and the conditions under which studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, archived and reported. The GLP Principles do not explicitly require procedures for continuous improvement outside of addressing formal inspection results. However, mechanisms for continual improvement are complementary to the GLP requirements and support that test facilities operate in a manner that assures the quality and validity of the studies conducted. This position paper provides an overview of available quality improvement tools that might be considered for GLP and their role and operation when used in test facilities.
Much has changed in the space economy over the past decade, with an ever-growing number of countries and business enterprises involved in space activities. Despite progress made in the quality and availability of data, the international comparability of space economy statistics remains limited. A decade after its first publication, it is therefore time to provide an up-to-date revision of the OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy to reflect the changing landscape of space activities, space technologies and subsequent evolving user needs. This new edition aims to encourage and facilitate data collection among both incumbents and new actors involved in space activities, respond to the needs of the public agencies that still fund the bulk of space programmes, and support industry and private decision-takers who will also benefit from improved statistics on the space economy.
Gender equality and environmental sustainability are gaining political momentum as global challenges that require urgent action at the national and international levels. Both figure prominently, albeit with limited interlinkages, in the United Nations Agenda 2030, and gender equality considerations are slowly making their way into international environmental and climate commitments. An integrated approach to gender equality and environmental sustainability – i.e. recognising the gender-environment nexus – could help to alleviate limitations to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment and enhance their roles in environmental sustainability and green growth. Likewise, enhancing gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment and decision-making, can lead to better environmental and climate outcomes and policies.
This report observes the gender-environment nexus in the Greek policy framework. It assesses environmental and climate policies through a gender lens, and gender equality policies through an environmental lens. It focuses mainly on policies and measures that could support women’s economic empowerment in environment-related sectors; women’s environmental leadership and decision making; and mainstreaming gender equality and environmental sustainability in policy tools. It proposes a series of recommendations that, if taken on board, could support integrating the gender-environment nexus into Greece’s national policies.
This document presents the outcome from a project that aimed to investigate safety issues related to the prevention of, preparedness for, and response to accidents involving manufactured nanomaterials. This report aims to address potential risks for humans and the environment resulting from accidents involving manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs), for example, accidental releases of larger quantities of nanomaterials into the area surrounding an establishment and review measures for prevention of, preparedness for and response to accidents involving nanomaterials.
Le présent Guide de bonnes pratiques (GBP) a été élaboré afin d’appuyer la mise en œuvre de la Recommandation du Conseil de l’OCDE concernant l’accès aux données et informations non cliniques sur les produits chimiques relatives à la santé, à la sécurité et à l’environnement et la protection des droits de propriété sur ces données et informations. Cette Recommandation vise à protéger à la fois le public et les propriétaires de données en maintenant un équilibre entre l’accès du public aux données sur la sécurité des produits chimiques et la protection des droits de propriété associés à ces résultats. Le GBP présente un ensemble d’approches de qualité aujourd’hui appliquées par les administrations et les entreprises pour divulguer les données relatives à la santé, à la sécurité et à l’environnement tout en protégeant les droits de propriété sur ces données.
This Best Practice Guide (BPG) was developed to support the implementation of the OECD Recommendation of the Council Concerning Access and Protection of Proprietary Rights to Non-Clinical Health, Safety and Environmental Data and Information on Chemicals. This Recommendation aims to protect both the public and the data owners by keeping a balance between the access of the public to chemical safety data and the protection of the proprietary rights associated with these results. This BPG provides a collection of existing good approaches by governments and industry for disclosing health, safety and environmental data while protecting their proprietary rights.
Dieser Bericht enthält Daten, internationale Praxisbeispiele und politikrelevante Erkenntnisse für die Gestaltung der Wohnungspolitik. Besonders im Fokus stehen dabei drei wichtige Aspekte: Teilhabe, Effizienz und Nachhaltigkeit. In vielen OECD-Ländern ist es zunehmend schwierig geworden, für alle Menschen ausreichend Wohnraum zur Verfügung zu stellen. Grund dafür sind vor allem die steigenden Wohnungspreise, die wiederum eine Folge des unzureichenden Angebots sind, das – gerade in städtischen Räumen mit zahlreichen Arbeitsplätzen – nicht mit der wachsenden Nachfrage Schritt halten konnte. Dies erklärt sich zwar z. T. aus geografischen Gegebenheiten, in vielen Städten beschränken aber auch Flächennutzungs- und Bebauungsvorschriften das Angebot. Zugleich behindern manche mietrechtlichen Bestimmungen die Entwicklung des Mietwohnungsmarkts, was die Mieten steigen lässt. Hinzu kommt, dass die Klimawende für den Wohngebäudesektor eine besondere Herausforderung darstellt, schließlich entfallen auf ihn 17 % der CO2-Emissionen und 37 % der Feinstaubemissionen weltweit. In fast zwei Dritteln der Länder weltweit fehlt es immer noch an energietechnischen Bauvorschriften. Angesichts der langen Lebensdauer von Wohngebäuden müssen die Klimaanstrengungen hier möglichst frühzeitig greifen. Gestützt auf solide Daten beschreibt dieser Bericht Optionen für konzertierte Maßnahmen, um diese Herausforderungen anzugehen und dabei Komplementäreffekten und Konflikten zwischen verschiedenen Zielen der Wohnungspolitik Rechnung zu tragen. Er ist Teil des „OECD Housing Toolkit“, das auch ein interaktives Online-Dashboard mit Indikatoren und Country-Snapshots enthält.
The National Dialogue on Water in Thailand was initiated in 2021 under the regional initiative with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea (MoE), the Asia Water Council (AWC) and the OECD. The Dialogue covers two main topics selected by the Government of Thailand (ONWR). The first one is water demand management, with a focus on the Eastern Economic Corridor. The second one is financing water supply and sanitation. Both combine to support a sustainable and resilient development pathway for Thailand's fast-growing economy. The analyses and policy recommendations cover issues such as the design of economic policy instruments, water allocation regimes, increasing demand for reclaimed water, or benchmarking the performance of water utilities, and blended finance for water supply and sanitation services. They are informed by the expertise of Thai stakeholders, the OECD and the Asia Water Council. They can be a source of inspiration in other contexts in South East Asia and globally.
Italy's National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) brings together the institutional mechanisms, evaluation frameworks and coherence tools needed to integrate sustainable development into government policy making. This Action Plan shows how to streamline existing mechanisms to improve policy coherence across levels of government and to involve civil society more closely in policy formulation. It also suggests how to make the most of complementarities across existing data collection efforts. The Action Plan includes suggestions for better linking mandates across departments and levels of government to avoid overlap and make greater progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, it provides targets and measurable processes for each action to help track progress.
La présente Ligne directrice pour les essais (LD) décrit une procédure de détermination de la surface spécifique en volume (Volume Specific Surface Area – VSSA) de nanomatériaux manufacturés solides en poudre. La VSSA (en m2/cm3) d’un matériau est calculée en multipliant la surface spécifique (en m2/g) par la densité squelettique (en g/cm3). La présente Ligne directrice explique comment déterminer la SSA externe et interne de nanomatériaux manufacturés solides en poudre à l’aide de la méthode Brunauer, Emmett et Teller (BET). Cette Ligne directrice explique également comment déterminer la densité squelettique (ρ) des nanomatériaux manufacturés par pycnométrie à gaz.
This Test Guideline describes the HPLC method, which permits to determine the partition coefficient (n-octanol/water) (Pow).
Reverse phase HPLC is performed on analytical columns packed with a solid phase containing long hydrocarbon chains chemically bound onto silica. The chemicals are retained in the column in proportion to their hydrocarbon-water partition coefficient, with hydrophilic chemicals eluted first and lipophilic chemicals last. The HPLC method covers log Pow in the range of 0 to 6, but it can be expanded to cover the log Pow range between 6 and 10 in exceptional cases. The HPLC operation mode is isocratic. The test substance is injected in the smallest detectable quantities in the column. The retention time is determined in duplicate. The partition coefficient of the test substance is obtained by interpolation of the calculated capacity factor on the calibration graph. For very low and very high partition coefficients extrapolation is necessary.This Test Guideline (TG) describes a harmonised procedure to determine the Volume Specific Surface Area (VSSA) of powdered solid manufactured nanomaterials (MNs). The VSSA (in m2/cm3) of a material is calculated by multiplying its mass specific surface area (in m2/g) with its skeletal density (in g/cm3). The determination of the external and internal (mass) specific surface area (SSA) of powdered solid MNs is done by the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) method. This TG also provides instructions on how to determine the skeletal density (ρ) of the MN by gas pycnometry.