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The OECD series Making Integration Work summarises, in a non-technical way, the main issues surrounding the integration of immigrants and their children into their host countries. Each volume presents concrete policy lessons for its theme, along with supporting examples of good practices and comparisons of the migrant integration policy frameworks in different OECD countries. This fourth volume explores the integration of young people with migrant parents, a diverse and growing cohort of youth in the OECD area.
Against the backdrop of turbulent markets and a crucial meeting of the COP26 conference on climate change in Glasgow, the 2021 World Energy Outlook (WEO) provides an indispensable guide to the opportunities, benefits and risks ahead at this vital moment for clean energy transitions.
The WEO is the energy world’s most authoritative source of analysis and projections. This flagship publication of the IEA has appeared every year since 1998. Its objective data and dispassionate analysis provide critical insights into global energy supply and demand in different scenarios and the implications for energy security, climate targets and economic development.
This year’s edition of the World Energy Investment report presents the latest data and analysis of how energy investment flows are recovering from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, including full-year estimates of the outlook for 2021. It examines how investors are assessing risks and opportunities across all areas of fuel and electricity supply, efficiency and research and development, against a backdrop of a recovery in global energy demand as well as strengthened pledges from governments and the private sector to address climate change.
The report focuses on two key questions:
- Whether the growing momentum among governments and investors to accelerate clean energy transitions is translating into an actual uptick in capital expenditures on clean energy projects.
- Whether the energy investment response to the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will be broad-based or if some sectors, geographies and vulnerable parts of the world’s population will be left behind.
Women at Work in G20 countries: Policy action since 2020. Paper prepared for the 2nd Meeting of the G20 Employment Working Group under Italy’s Presidency 2021
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have collaborated in the third round of the Survey on National Education Responses to COVID-19 School Closures, administered by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and OECD to Ministry of Education officials. The questions covered four levels of education: preprimary, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary. While the first two rounds of the survey were implemented during the periods May–June and July–October 2020, respectively, the third round was implemented during the period February–June 2021. In total, 143 countries responded to the questionnaire. Thirty-one countries submitted responses to the OECD (“OECD survey”) and 112 countries responded to the UIS (“UIS survey”). Seven countries responded to both surveys. In these instances, the more complete set responses were used in analysis.
While COVID 19 has hit Peru particularly hard, with about 1.4 million cases as of March 2021, the pandemic further emphasised the importance of water and sanitation for health, the environment and the economy. The country is not yet on track to meet the targets of SDG 6 “Clean water and sanitation” by 2030, with 3 million Peruvians (9.2% of the population) lacking access to water services and 8.2 million Peruvians (25.2%) lacking access to sewerage services, and a large urban rural divide. In addition, between 2000 and 2020, floods affected an estimated 4.43 million people, while inadequate management of solid waste and some economic activities are amongst the causes of water pollution, leading to severe public health issues, and social conflicts. In the face of climate change and demographic growth, strengthening water governance in Peru is key for long term water security improvements. The report provides an analysis of water governance in the country and policy recommendations to: strengthen the multi sectoral approach to water; improve the use of economic instruments to protect and sustainably use water resources, its sources and related ecosystem services; and strengthen regulatory conditions to improved access to safe drinking water and sanitation in urban and rural areas.
In 2018, the city of Cape Town, South Africa, was close to the “Day Zero”, requiring all taps to be shut off and citizens to fetch a daily 25 litre per person. Though the day-zero was avoided, it is estimated that, at the current rate, South Africa will experience a 17% water deficit by 2030 if no action is taken to respond to existing trends. Lessons learned during that drought crisis have been valuable for the city to manage the short-term COVID-19 implications and design long-term solutions towards greater water resilience. As a result of a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue involving 100+ stakeholders from the city of Cape Town and South Africa, this report assesses key water risks and governance challenges in Cape Town, and provides policy recommendations towards more effective, efficient and inclusive water management building on the OECD Principles on Water Governance. In particular, the report calls for strengthening integrated basin governance, transparency, integrity, stakeholder engagement, capacities at all levels of government, financial sustainability and for advancing the water allocation reform to better manage trade-offs across multiple users.
The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a magnifying glass on pressing water and sanitation challenges in African cities, stressing and widening inequalities, especially for the 56% of the urban population living in informal settlements, lacking basic handwashing facilities, and relying on public water points and shared toilets. Before the pandemic, African countries and cities were already facing mounting water challenges with, in Sub-Saharan Africa only, 418 million people lacking basic access to water supply and 717 million to sanitation, in addition to concomitant floods, droughts and pollution issues. Megatrends related to climate change, urbanisation and population growth add more pressure on water resources and require urgent attention for African cities to cope with future water challenges. Building on a Survey on Water Governance across 36 cities of all size in Africa, this report provides a regional overview of the allocation of roles and responsibilities for water management, the existence and implementation of institutional, policy and regulatory frameworks, as well as the critical governance gaps that need to be bridged in order to boost city government capacity to drive water security in the continent.
One of a series of studies on vocational education and training, this review assesses vocational education and training (VET) in Thailand and provides policy recommendations. VET has the potential to provide relevant education and training opportunities to young people and adults in Thailand, especially as the demand for technical skills is high. This can be achieved by building on the strengths of the system, including a strong postsecondary vocational system and a small but dynamic dual system. However, it remains an unattractive option for many students in Thailand, because of a poor image among students and parents, quality issues, a hard-to-navigate system and limited progression pathways. Additional efforts are therefore needed to align the mix of provision with the needs of the Thai labour market. This review provides recommendations on how to improve access to programmes, reduce inequalities in access to high-quality institutions and programmes, make better use of skills intelligence to inform education and training policies, and engage employers in the design and delivery of vocational education and training, including work-based learning.
A Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is a system to collect and disseminate information on environmental releases and transfers of pollutants from industrial and other facilities. Among the most important applications of PRTRs is their use to inform decisions, gain insight, identify opportunities, and assess progress related to sustainability. The OECD Framework on the Role of Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) in Global Sustainability Analyses describes the role of PRTRs in sustainable development and illustrates how PRTR data and information can be used to assess progress towards global sustainability. Based on the Framework, this analysis developed approaches for using PRTR data from multiple countries to conduct a global-scale analysis focused on assessing progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 12, Target 12.4. This target focuses on sound chemical management, reducing releases of chemicals to the environment, and minimising the adverse impacts of chemical releases on human health and the environment.
Digital technologies are increasingly present in young children’s lives. How can early education systems get the best out of digitalisation while minimising its risks? This is especially urgent as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated our reliance on digital tools – tools that enabled young children to continue learning when early education centres and primary schools closed down.
It is in this context that the OECD conducted a policy survey covering 34 countries and jurisdictions. It investigates how digital technologies were used to provide distance education for young children in 2020, which challenges arose and what policy changes are in the pipeline for early education.
This OECD Emission Scenario Document (ESD) is intended to provide information on the sources, use patterns, and potential release and exposure pathways of non-volatile chemicals used in Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs) in firefighting applications. The document presents standard approaches for estimating the environmental releases of and occupational exposures to chemicals used in AFFF.
Uranium is the raw material used to produce fuel for long-lived nuclear power facilities, necessary for the generation of significant amounts of low-carbon electricity and other uses, such as heat and hydrogen production, for decades to come. Although a valuable commodity, major producing countries limited total production in recent years in response to a depressed uranium market. Uranium production cuts have unexpectedly deepened with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, leading to some questions being raised about future uranium supply.
This 28th edition of the “Red Book”, a recognised world reference on uranium jointly prepared by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), provides analyses and information from 45 producing and consuming countries in order to address these and other questions. The present edition reviews world uranium market fundamentals and presents data on global uranium exploration, resources, production and reactor-related requirements. It offers updated information on established uranium production centres and mine development plans, as well as projections of nuclear generating capacity and reactor-related requirements through 2040.
Subnational governments carry out more than 60% of total public procurement in OECD countries. As such, public procurement can offer a powerful tool for cities to boost local growth and advance their strategic priorities, ranging from innovation and inclusion to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Bratislava, the most populated and richest municipality in the Slovak Republic, carried out 39% of its expenditures through public procurement in 2019. The COVID-19 crisis has enhanced both the urgency and the opportunity to improve the city's procurement system and to rethink "what" and "how" to procure. In this context, Bratislava is developing new directives to make its procurement processes more efficient. This report offers recommendations on how Bratislava can use public procurement strategically to identify value-for-money solutions, foster competition, and promote sustainable urban development. The report also includes a concrete case study on Bratislava’s public procurement for street lighting, which provides methodological guidance on the analysis of needs, market engagement, and tender design.
This report provides an overview of funding and financing instruments available to support infrastructure investment in cities and regions. Subnational governments have a critical role to deliver, operate and maintain infrastructure, and to invest to help drive the recovery from COVID-19. In recent years, many subnational governments have introduced innovations in the types of instruments used to access funding and financing. Highlighting examples from G20, OECD and non-OECD countries, this report presents a framework to differentiate funding and financing instruments, including by type of instrument, and their use, and outlines essential framework conditions that are needed to support subnational governments, The report was submitted to the G20 Infrastructure Working Group under the Italian Presidency and key findings were presented at the G20 High-level Conference on Local Infrastructure in Genoa, Italy on 27 September 2021.
The multidimensional and intergenerational nature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for integrated policies. Progress made in a particular social, economic or environmental area or individual goal may generate synergies and trade-offs across dimensions (spillover effects), and steps taken in one country could have positive or negative impacts beyond national borders (transboundary effects). Assessing the multidimensional and cross-border effects of policies has become even more urgent in the context of COVID-19 containment measures. However, there are gaps in governance and analytical tools for identifying and managing spillover and transboundary effects, posing challenges for governments in designing and implementing sustainability strategies. This book, a collaborative effort by the OECD and the European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) presents a set of new governance and analytical tools, lessons learned from country experiences, and good emerging practices for managing spillover and transboundary effects in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Few small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) scale up, but these few fast growing firms are the major driver of new jobs added to OECD economies. This report helps policy makers get a grip on growth of those few SMEs by considering the transformation they undergo before, during and after their high-growth phase. Based on analysis of detailed firm-level data in a pilot project implemented for Finland, Italy, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and Spain, the report shows that SMEs in all types of places, of all ages and in all sectors have the potential to scale up. The strength of the potential does, however, vary. Getting a grip on growth of SMEs can pay important dividends as scalers contribute the majority of new jobs created by SMEs during their high-growth phase, but also continue to contribute positively to aggregate job creation and aggregate growth in turnover in the following years. A closer look at the characteristics of SMEs that scale up compared to similar “peers” that do not, shows that scaling is likely a strategic choice and includes investments and other preparatory transformation in the years preceding scaling up.
Commodity trading presents specific and heightened risks of corruption due to the large amount of money involved in commodity trading transactions, which are source of important revenues for developing countries, and due to the sophisticated mechanisms used to channel corrupt payments. These include complex and opaque corporate structures, the use of off-shore entities, that render the identification of beneficial owners more difficult, the use of intermediaries (including briefcase or shell companies) and joint ventures with politically exposed persons (PEPs).
This report maps out corruption risks of cross-cutting relevance for the sales of oil, gas and minerals that can arise at several points in commodity trading transactions. It contributes to advancing the global transparency and accountability agenda in commodity trading, by improving understanding and raising awareness of corruption red flags and evolving corruption patterns across a wide range of stakeholders, including home jurisdictions of buying companies, trading hubs, host governments, state-owned enterprises and buying companies.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) regularly conducts in-depth peer reviews of the energy policies of its member countries. This process supports energy policy development and encourages the exchange of international best practices and experiences.
The guiding principles of Turkish energy policy continue to be market reform and energy security. Rapid economic and population growth in the past two decades have not only driven strong growth in energy demand but also an associated increase in import dependency.
Turkey has prioritised security of energy supply as one of the central pillars of its energy strategy, including efforts to boost domestic oil and gas exploration and production, diversify oil and gas supply sources and associated infrastructure, and reduce energy consumption through increased energy efficiency.
Turkey has seen considerable diversification of its energy mix in the past decade, in particular through the growth of renewable electricity generation. The commissioning of Turkey’s first nuclear power facility in 2023 will further diversify the country’s fuel mix.
Notwithstanding many positive changes Turkey has made toward liberalising its energy markets and diversifying its energy sources, the government should ensure that policies in place to bolster energy security – including growth in coal-fired generation and support for various forms of electricity generation – do not impede the economic efficiency of markets and the country’s longer-term decarbonisation efforts.
In this report, the IEA provides energy policy recommendations to help Turkey smoothly manage the evolution of its energy sector.
Travel behaviour has evolved in unexpected ways in urbanised areas in the early 21st century. This report examines how significant breaks with past trends happened - and why these shifts were not foreseen. The Covid-19 pandemic adds to uncertainty about future demand to travel. Forecast-led transport planning is not well equipped to handle uncertainty. The report presents new approaches which explicitly address uncertainty, are vision-led and enable the development of resilient plans. It also considers how governance and institutions can be adapted to support such a paradigm shift.