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This report addresses the commercial availability and current uses of alternatives (chemical and non-chemical) to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in food packaging (paper and paperboard). PFASs are synthetic substances that are widely used in numerous technologies, industrial processes and everyday applications. Since the discovery of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in 1938, PFASs, both polymeric and non-polymeric, have been used extensively in various industries worldwide, due to their dielectrical properties, resistance to heat and chemical agents, low surface energy and low friction properties, etc. Due to the large variety of PFAS substances captured in the OECD definition, the individual PFAS will have different properties, however, in general, the highly stable carbon-fluorine bond and the unique physicochemical properties of PFASs make these substances valuable ingredients for products with high versatility, strength, resilience and durability. Based upon this review, a number of policy recommendations are suggested in this report as well as areas that may be considered for further work. These have been divided into those aimed at international organisations and those aimed at industry.

This report presents the objectives, methodology, procedures and main findings of the OECD project "Strengthening public finance capacity for green investments in the EECCA countries". Between 2016-19, the project aimed to help set the partner countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova) on a sustainable path of development by reducing the energy and carbon intensity of their economies. Working with the relevant ministry in each country, the project designed public investment programmes in line with good international practices. These programmes sought to address key objectives of the countries' environmental and climate-related policies. The Clean Public Transport Programmes focus specifically on reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the target sector, primarily in large urban areas. They aim to demonstrate how to use scarce public funds to encourage private sector investment in projects that generate significant environmental and socio-economic benefits alike.

This report discusses the main results of a project on how an influx of funds could spur development of cleaner public transport, and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in large urban centres in Kyrgyzstan, by providing an analysis for designing a green public investment programme in this sector. This sector represents an opportunity for Kyrgyzstan to address key objectives in its environmental and climate-related policies as part of the country’s ambitions to transition to a green economic path of development. The investment programme is also designed to support the modernisation of the urban transport fleet in the country and stimulate the domestic market to shift to modern buses powered by cleaner fuels. The programme is foreseen to be implemented in two phases: the first covers the cities of Bishkek and Osh and the second extends to areas outside of the initial pilot city centres (pilot city suburbs as well as inter-city transport). These investments are expected to result in significant environmental, public service and socio-economic benefits.

This report discusses the main results of a project on how an influx of funds could spur development of cleaner public transport, and reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in large urban centres in Moldova, by providing an analysis for designing a green public investment programme in this sector. This sector represents an opportunity for Moldova to address key objectives in its environmental and climate-related policies as part of the country’s ambitions to transition to a green economic path of development. The investment programme is also designed to support the modernisation of the urban transport fleet in the country and stimulate the domestic market to shift to modern buses powered by clean fuels. The programme is foreseen to be implemented in two phases: the first covers the cities of Chisinau and Balti and the second extends to areas outside of the initial pilot city centres (pilot city suburbs as well as inter-city transport). These investments are expected to result in significant environmental, public service and socio-economic benefits.

This framework helps to identify the appropriate methods for characterising physico-chemical endpoints for different manufactured nanomaterials, or types of nanomaterials, for use in risk assessment and management, starting with basic substance characterisation. This document is intended to provide a generalised process that is capable of identifying the relevant information from relatively simple to more advanced nanomaterial systems. As a whole, the framework is intended to clarify requirements and reduce uncertainty in the applicability of testing and measurements for resolving knowledge gaps.

Las Revisiones de Políticas Agroalimentarias proporcionan una evaluación exhaustiva de las políticas agrícolas de cada país y el cálculo de un conjunto de indicadores desarrollados por la OCDE. Estos indicadores se utilizan regularmente en el análisis de la agricultura y sector alimentario en los países de la OCDE y de varias economías emergentes. Este informe incluye el análisis y los indicadores correspondientes a Argentina, integrando los principales aspectos de la política agroalimentaria como la política comercial, la innovación, la sostenibilidad, la gestión de riesgos y las cadenas de valor, y proporciona recomendaciones de política.  
El sector agropecuario de Argentina ha experimentado un proceso de innovación notable en las últimas dos décadas. Esta transformación ha sido liderada principalmente por un sector privado dinámico y proactivo, a pesar de estar sujeto a políticas de apoyo negativo tales como las restricciones y los impuestos a la exportación. La rápida adopción de tecnologías como las semillas mejoradas y la siembra directa, e innovaciones organizacionales han contribuido a aumentar la Productividad Total de los Factores en los cultivos. Los apoyos presupuestarios se han centrado en la prestación de servicios generales tales como investigación, extensión y sanidad agropecuaria, facilitando la innovación y la gestión proactiva de los riesgos. Las presiones ambientales están en aumento con el crecimiento del uso de pesticidas y la deforestación. Las producciones fuera de la región pampeana acumulan un retraso en productividad e innovación.

This report presents policy options for extending the life of road assets by mitigating deterioration caused by trucks. Beyond traditional engineering responses, it considers the role of trucks in road asset deterioration from a broader, demand-oriented perspective.

The risk of the Seine flooding the Ile de France region is a major one. In 2014, the OECD estimated that flooding comparable to the historic 1910 flood could affect up to 5 million citizens and cause damage costing up to 30 billion euros. This update tracks the progress made since 2014 and identifies remaining challenges.

This report discusses the main results of a project on how to reduce air pollution from urban public transport in Kazakhstan, by providing an analysis for designing a green public investment programme in this sector. This sector represents an opportunity for Kazakhstan to address key objectives in its environmental and climate-related policies as part of the country’s ambitions to transition to a green economic path of development. The investment programme is also designed to support the modernisation of the urban transport fleet in the country and stimulate the domestic market to shift to modern buses powered by clean fuels. The programme is foreseen to be implemented in two phases: the first covers the cities of Kostanay and Shymkent and the second, all major urban centres in Kazakhstan. These investments are expected to result in significant air improvement.

This report responds to the request by G7 Leaders at the Schloss Elmau Summit in June 2015, for the OECD to develop policy guidance on resource efficiency. Establishing a resource efficient economy is a major environmental, development and macroeconomic challenge today. Improving resource efficiency by putting in place policies that implement the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle (the 3Rs) is crucial to improving resource use, security and competitiveness while diminishing the associated environmental impacts.

This report summarises the discussions of a workshop on the applicability of existing OECD Test Guidelines (TG) on physical-chemical properties of manufactured nanomaterials, and further identifies the need to update current or develop new OECD Test Guidelines and/or OECD Guidance Documents (GD) which are relevant for safety and regulatory decision-making of nanomaterials.

This joint report by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) is the eighth in a series of studies on electricity generating costs. As policy makers work to ensure that the power supply is reliable, secure and affordable, while making it increasingly clean and sustainable in the context of the debate on climate change, it is becoming more crucial that they understand what determines the relative cost of electricity generation using fossil fuel, nuclear or renewable sources of energy. A wide range of fuels and technologies are presented in the report, including natural gas, coal, nuclear, hydro, solar, onshore and offshore wind, biomass and biogas, geothermal, and combined heat and power, drawing on a database from surveys of investment and operating costs that include a larger number of countries than previous editions.
 
The analysis of more than 180 plants, based on data covering 22 countries, reveals several key trends, pointing, for example, to a significant decline in recent years in the cost of renewable generation. The report also reveals that nuclear energy costs remain in line with the cost of other baseload technologies, particularly in markets that value decarbonisation. Overall, cost drivers of the different generating technologies remain both market-specific and technology-specific.
 
Readers will find a wealth of details and analysis, supported by over 200 figures and tables, underlining this report’s value as a tool for decision makers and researchers concerned with energy policies, climate change and the evolution of power sectors around the world.
 

This document is intended as a guide to developers of new test methods that are analogous to existing, fully validated test methods in that they are based on similar scientific principles and predict the same effect(colloquially referred to as “me too” tests) .This document contains the Performance Standards (PS) for the human recombinant estrogen receptor (hrER) binding assay. These PS accompany the Performance-Based Test Guideline (PBTG) for human recombinant estrogen receptor in vitro assays to detect chemicals with ER binding affinity (TG 493). The PS are intended for the developers of new or modified test methods, similar to the validated reference methods.

This document includes the Performance Standards (PS) for stably transfected transactivation in vitroassays to detect estrogen receptor (ER) antagonists. These PS accompany the Performance-Based Test Guideline (PBTG) for Transfected Transactivation In Vitro Assays to Detect Estrogen Agonists and Antagonists (TG 455). The PS are intended for the developers of new or modified test methods, similar to the validated reference methods.

The purpose of Performance Standards (PS) is to provide the basis by which new similar or modified test methods, both proprietary (i.e. copyrighted, trademarked, registered) and non-proprietary, can be deemed to be structurally and mechanistically similar to a Validated Reference Method (VRM) and demonstrate to have sufficient reliability and relevance for specific testing purposes (i.e., scientifically valid), in accordance with the principles of Guidance Document No. 34. This document contains Performance Standards which allow determining the validation status (reliability and relevance) of similar and modified skin corrosion test methods that are structurally and mechanistically similar to the TER test method in OECD Test Guideline 430.

The purpose of Performance Standards (PS) is to provide the basis by which new similar or modified test methods, both proprietary (i.e. copyrighted, trademarked, registered) and non-proprietary,can be deemed to be structurally and mechanistically similar to a Validated Reference Method (VRM) and demonstrate to have sufficient reliability and relevance for specific testing purposes (i.e., scientifically valid), in accordance with the principles of Guidance Document No. 34. This document contains the Performance Standards (PS) for the validation of similar or modified RhE methods for skin irritation testing as described in TG 439. In the past, PS were usually annexed to TGs. However, in view of separating information on the use of a test method as contained in the TG from information needed to validate test methods as contained in the PS, TGs and PS will now both be stand alone documents.