Browse by: "2022"

This publication contains the 2022 Second Round Peer Review on the Exchange of Information on Request for Slovenia.

This publication contains the 2022 Second Round Combined Peer Review on the Exchange of Information on Request for South Africa.

This publication contains the 2022 Second Round Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request for Sweden. It refers to Phase 1 only (Legal and Regulatory Framework).

This publication contains the 2022 Second Round Peer Review on the Exchange of Information on Request for Türkiye.

Successive crises including COVID-19, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the climate emergency are exacerbating inequalities between and within countries and stifling progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. While developed countries deployed historic stimulus packages to build back better, developing countries lacked fiscal and monetary buffers to respond. Countries with the fewest resources face challenging trade-offs between short-term rescue and long-term financing for a sustainable recovery. The SDG financing gap in developing countries grew due to a drop in available resources called upon in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda coupled with rising financing needs. Official Development Assistance (ODA), or aid, played an important role to help narrow the gap, but could not do so on its own. Global crises open a window of opportunity for SDG alignment of broader resources to narrow the gap. Growing trillions in developed countries aim to reduce risks, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. However, resources are not reaching the countries most in need. Urgent action is needed to remove bottlenecks for a more equitable and needs-based allocation of sustainable finance.

The global community is far from achieving its objective of ending plastic pollution, unless more stringent and co-ordinated policies are implemented. A key question is: What are the plausible scenarios for the evolution of plastics in the absence of additional measures and, as well, with scaled-up policy action? The Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060 provides such a forward-looking perspective. The report presents a set of coherent projections on plastics to 2060, including plastics use, waste as well as the environmental impacts linked to plastics, especially leakage to the environment. Such an outlook on plastics can help policy makers understand the scale of the challenge to transition to a more sustainable and circular use of plastics and the need for additional policy action. By identifying two policy packages to bend the plastic curve, the Outlook allows for a better understanding of the environmental benefits and economic consequences of adopting stringent policies. This second report is a follow-up to the first report – Global Plastics Outlook: Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options – which quantified current trends in plastics use, waste generation and leakage, as well as identified four policy levers to curb the environmental impacts of plastics.

This annual report monitors global insurance market trends to support a better understanding of the overall performance and health of the insurance industry. The report is compiled using data from the OECD Global Insurance Statistics (GIS) database. The geographical reach of the GIS database is constantly expanding. In addition to OECD countries, it covers a number of non-OECD Latin American countries – achieved through cooperation with the Association of Latin American Insurance Supervisors (ASSAL) – and selected non-OECD jurisdictions in the Asian region and elsewhere.

The ubiquitous collection, use, and sharing of data that power today’s economies challenge existing governance frameworks and policy approaches. Drawing on the extensive research and analysis conducted at the OECD on data governance, on countries’ policies and practices, and the OECD legal instruments in this area, the Going Digital Guide to Data Governance Policy Making supports policy makers in navigating three fundamental policy tensions that characterise efforts to develop, revise, and implement policies for data governance across policy domains in the digital age: balancing data openness and control while maximising trust; managing overlapping and potentially conflicting interests and regulations related to data; incentivising investments in data and their effective re-use. The operative part of the guide consists of a checklist of questions to orient policy makers as they develop and revise effective policies for data governance, based on possible policy approaches and real-life examples.

Data are generated wherever digital technologies are deployed namely, in almost every part of modern life. Using these data can empower individuals, drive innovation, enable new digital products and improve policy making and public service delivery. But as data become more widely used across sectors and applications, the potential for misuse and harm also grows. To advance data governance for growth and well-being, this report advocates a holistic and coherent approach to data governance, domestically and across borders. It examines how data have emerged as a strategic asset, with the ability to transform lives and confer economic advantage. It explains how the unique characteristics of data can pose complex trade-offs and challenge policies that pre-date the data-driven era. This report provides new insights, evidence and analysis and outlines considerations for better data governance policies in the digital age.

Holding companies and private corporations are the largest owner of listed companies in a large number of Asian jurisdictions. While group structures can have advantages for company operations, they also raise important challenges with respect to corporate governance. Furthermore, Asian company groups often expand to other markets, especially in Asia. Considering these characteristics, Asian regulators face similar regulatory challenges, pointing to a need for sharing of how policy measures and practices can be adopted to remain effective. This report analyses developments in twelve jurisdictions and identifies seven areas of recommendations for corporate governance of company groups.

Government chemicals management frameworks aim to enable the safe use of chemicals and ensure their proper management. The approaches used by governments to manage chemical risks are just one aspect of a larger risk management system with industry as a principal actor. They cover a spectrum of activities varying from a government regulatory response that is command-and-control in nature to policy approaches that aim to incentivise a shift in behaviour. The approaches can be responsive, to an identified existing risk, or proactive/pre-cautionary, aiming to minimise possible future risks. Also, the approaches can be used in combination. This document provides a synthesis of the various risk management approaches and options that are used by OECD member country government chemical regulatory programmes to manage the risk of chemicals. The scope of the document focuses on the management of risks of industrial and consumer chemicals, i.e., chemicals which are not covered by specific legislations such as pesticides or pharmaceuticals. The synthesis can serve as a basis for future discussions of individual risk management approaches, either for particular types of chemicals or regarding particular risk management approaches and facilitate international alignment. It can also promote the identification of areas where governments can additionally support better chemicals management and serve as a resource for countries developing their chemicals management programmes.

This Guidance Document is intended to provide guidance to industry and regulatory authorities, on regulatory approaches that can be taken for assessment and approval of bacteriophages to be used as plant protection products. Bacteriophages (or phages) are a group of microorganisms that are viruses specifically infective to bacteria, which can be considered a niche use.

This guidance provides recommendations for the design and execution of laboratory studies to evaluate the performance of biocidal products in any formulation such as a liquid, aerosol, fog, or impregnated fabric intended to repel, attract, and/or kill bed bugs (Cimex lectularius). It does not apply to repellent products applied to human skin. The guidance is based upon the American Laboratory Product Performance Testing Methods for Bed Bug Pesticide Products (US EPA 2017, OCSPP 810.3900) and incorporates information from laboratory efficacy testing standards for biocidal products against bed bugs in the framework of the German Infectious Diseases Protection Act (18, 46). Investigators should ensure research is conducted in compliance with any applicable laws or regulations, which are independent of and additional to those cited in this guidance

This guidance provides recommendations for the design and execution of simulated-use studies to evaluate the efficacy of baits (claim “nest kill”) against tropical ants. Furthermore, this guidance deals with laboratory and simulated-use testing of tropical ant repellents (e.g. claim “reduction or prevention of invading ants in houses or sensitive areas”). The recommendations in this document refer to products for control in indoor environments.

This Guide considers current challenges in building and maintaining perceived and effective impartiality amongst NCPs and identifies good practices and tools in this regard. In particular, it addresses the notion of impartiality mean and how is it challenged by perceptions of bias and conflict of interest, and discusses how institutional arrangements can be used to build and maintain impartiality in the NCP system. It also discusses how NCPs can build and maintain impartiality at the individual level, by reference to measures and tools that NCPs are currently using.

This resource note addresses some of the key challenges that NCPs have faced or are likely to face in their handling of specific instances that involve the rights of indigenous peoples. It examines what is understood by the term “indigenous peoples”, the relationship between the OECD Guidelines and indigenous peoples, explores relevant NCP cases and the key topics that arise from the cases. The note then puts forward practical considerations to help NCPs better manage cases involving the rights of indigenous peoples.