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This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) is intended to provide information on the
sources, use patterns and release pathways of chemicals used in automotive refinishing industry. The information can be used to estimate releases of chemicals to the environment.
 

Which alternative motor fuels will be in common use tomorrow? Which criteria should be used to assess them? No simple answers exist. Complex trade-offs are involved in the decision-making process. But the most important ingredient for making informed choices is sound information produced by a transparent methodology. Automotive Fuels for the Future offers a digest of basic data on the critical fuel choices for the future. It is a well-balanced compendium of concise technical information, as well as an overview of the essential issues in deciding among alternative fuels. Fuels such as natural gas, LPG or alcohols and biodiesel derived from different feedstocks are considered over the entire cycle from production to use. They are analysed in terms of environmental effects, safety, availability and cost. Their weaknesses and strengths are judged against the yardsticks of established gasoline and diesel technologies. This publication from IEA/AFIS, the information service of the IEA Implementing Agreement on Advanced Motor Fuels, makes this information accessible to the general reader.

Biodurability of nanomaterials (NMs) through dissolution and enzymatic biodegradation or chemical disintegration is an important property that needs to be investigated for their potential to cause harm to humans and the environment. NMs may therefore be differentiated based on their biodurability between those that are amenable and those that are resistant to dissolution, biodegradation and/or disintegration. This document compiles the relevant information on the biodurability of the pristine and functionalised nanomaterials in biological and environmental media in vitro and in vivo, as well as describes brief methods for measuring the stability and halftimes of nanomaterials.

Bringing the results of economic appraisals and environmental assessments before technical and political decision-makers in ways that are clear, concise and transparent is essential if planning and decision making procedures are to achieve a sustainable transport system. This report makes recommendations for good practice in the transport sector on the basis of reviews of recent experience in infrastructure planning and policy development in seven countries.

How can the environmental effects of trade liberalisation agreements be assessed ? Are available methodologies sufficiently tuned to current concerns? In order to take stock of the state of the art in assessment methodologies, the OECD organised a two-day technical workshop to focus on past practice and new tools for assessing the environmental effects of trade agreements. Some two dozen experts from governments, international organisations, universities international organisations, universities and NGOs active in this area presented lessons from past practice and results of the considerable advances made in recent years. This volume brings together the papers presented during the two-day workshop by the invited experts and the comments from a range of governmental and international organisation practitioners and representatives of civil society who participated in the workshop. In addition to the presentations on methodologies, this book includes the workshop rapporteur's summary of the gaps in the existing research in this field.

Over the past decades, governments have gradually adopted more rigorous environmental policies to tackle challenges associated with pressing environmental issues, such as climate change. The ambition of these policies is, however, often tempered by their perceived negative effects on the economy. The empirical evidence in this volume – covering a decade of OECD analysis – shows that environmental policies have had relatively small effects on economic outcomes such as employment, investment, trade and productivity. At the same time, they have been effective at reducing emissions from industry. The policies can however generate winners and losers across firms, industries and regions: while the least productive firms from high-polluting sectors are adversely affected, more productive firms and low-pollution sectors benefit. Environmental policies can be designed and combined with other policies to compensate workers and industries that may lose and to emphasise their positive impacts.

Policies aimed at reducing the environmental impact of human activities have important consequences for labour markets, jobs, and skills. As employment is shifting towards more sustainable activities, workers are increasingly expected to have skills that support the transition to a greener economy. Assessing and anticipating emerging skill needs is crucial to avoid bottlenecks and sustain the green transition. This report sheds light on existing methods to measure changes in skill demand and supply related to the green transition through an in-depth review of practices in five OECD countries (Australia, Austria, France, Norway and Sweden). It also identifies best practice on how to feed information on changing skill needs into policies, notably in the areas of employment, career guidance, education and adult learning.

Contaminated drinking water contributes to disease in developing and developed countries worldwide.  This book, which is the outcome of a shared WHO-OECD initiative since 1998, provides a state-of-the-art review on approaches and methods used in assessing the microbial safety of drinking-water.  It supports a framework for water and offers guidance on the selection and use of available indicators alongside operational monitoring to meet specific information needs. It looks at potential applications of new technologies and emerging methods.

This report uses the OECD Principles on Water Governance as a tool for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue and practical assessment of the performance of flood governance systems. It applies the Principles to flood-prone contexts to help strengthen governance frameworks for managing the risks of “too much” water. By 2050, 1.6 billion people will be at risk of flooding, affecting nearly 20% of the world’s population at an increasing rate and many times over with dire social, economic and environmental consequences. In this report, a checklist is proposed as a self-assessment tool for stakeholders in flood management, based on lessons learned from 27 case studies that feature practical experiences and highlight common features and key challenges in flood governance.

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is one of the main tools available to achieve integration of the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes.  This Guidance volume explains the benefits of using SEA in development co-operation and sets out key steps for its application based on recent experiences. Twelve different entry points are identified for the practical application of SEA in development co-operation. For each entry point, the text provides a guidance note: a checklist of questions and hands-on case studies. Evaluation and capacity development for SEA processes are also addressed.

This document introduces a life cycle approach to the validation and operation of computerised systems. It emphasises risk assessment as the central element of a scalable, economic and effective validation process with a focus on data integrity. The intention of this document is to provide guidance that will allow test facilities to develop an adequate strategy for the validation and operation of any type of computerised system, regardless of its complexity, in a GLP environment.

This report investigates the potential for harmonisation of test methods for antimicrobial biocides used in treated articles/materials. It analyses and assesses current protocols to develop harmonised test methods and performance standards for the efficacy testing of biocides used in treated articles.

The COVID-19 crisis is an enormous challenge to economies and societies across the world. It has exposed our vulnerabilities to global shocks and underlined the importance of improving environmental health and societal resilience. Early in the pandemic, economic rescue measures had the priority of providing relief to workers and businesses. But the economic stimulus packages and recovery plans that governments are now putting in place have the potential to create a recovery that is both green and inclusive while achieving global climate goals.

Green budgeting is emerging at subnational levels as an important tool for regions and cities to use to align their expenditure and revenues with their green objectives, and enhance the transparency and accountability of their climate and environmental action. It is also a tool that subnational governments can use to prioritise low-carbon investments and identify funding gaps, as well as to mobilise additional sources of both private and public climate finance. In order for subnational governments to make full use of green budgeting however, more methodological, technical, and financial support is needed. This report presents a first stocktake of subnational green budgeting practices in OECD and EU countries as well as a set of guidelines for subnational governments to use in developing and launching a green budgeting practice. It is accompanied by two green budgeting case studies – one with the Region of Brittany (France) and one with the City of Venice (Italy) – and a self-assessment tool. The self-assessment tool allows regions and cities to measure their capacity to launch a green budgeting practice or strengthen an existing one, and is available on the OECD Subnational Government Climate Finance Hub as a downloadable Excel file.