ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND THE OECD Lorents G' Lorentsen, Director for Environment, OECD

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENTAND THE OECDLorents G.
Lorentsen,Director for Environment, OECD

• Mexico City
• 30 November 2005
• www.oecd.org/env

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PRESENTATION OVERVIEW

• What is the OECD, and how do we work?
• OECD work on environment
• Main environmental challenges, Ministers
  priorities
• Work in specific areas
• Climate change
• Water
• Indicators and peer reviews

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WHAT IS THE OECD?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development

• 30 Member countries, working with a further 70
  countries.
• Mission to promote policies to achieve
  sustainable economic growth and employment, a
  rising standard of living, and trade
  liberalisation.
• Forum where countries can compare experience,
  discuss common problems, develop policy
  responses, and measure progress.
• How do we function
• Council of Ambassadors ? strategic direction for
  the work.
• 12 substantive Committees ? implement the
  programme.
• Secretariat ? provides analytical support and
  policy advice.

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How do we work?
Data collection case studies
Analysis
Discussion
Decisions
Implementation
Peer reviews, multilateral surveillance
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WHAT IS OUR ENVIRONMENT MISSION?

• We assist countries to improve their
  environmental policies by providing policy advice
  based on sound analysis, cross-country
  experience, and reliable data, and by fostering
  accountability through peer pressure.

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WHAT DO WE DO?

• Environmental Performance Reviews, Indicators
  and Outlooks
• ? Peer reviews
• ? Indicators, data and statistics
• ? Environmental outlooks and modelling
• Natural Resources Management and Climate Change
• ? Climate change
• ? Biodiversity
• ? Water
• continued

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WHAT DO WE DO? (contd.)

• Environment, Health and Safety, and Social
  Linkages
• ? Chemicals, pesticides and biotechnology
• ? Social linkages
• Decoupling Environmental Pressures from Economic
  Growth
• ? Policy mixes and instruments
• ? Trade, investment and environment
• ? Waste
• ? Transport
• ? Agriculture and environment
• ? Sustainable household consumption and greener
  public purchasing
• ? Environmental policy, technological innovation
  and the firm

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WHAT ARE THE MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES?

• Some air pollutants (lead, CFCs, NOx, SOx)
• Forest coverage in OECD regions

• Water use
• Surface water quality
• Hazardous waste toxic emissions from
  industry
• Energy production use
• Forest quality in OECD regions
• Waste management

• GHG emissions
• Motor vehicle aviation air pollution
• Agricultural pollution groundwater quality
• Over-fishing
• Biodiversity tropical forest coverage
• Chemicals in the environment

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MAIN MESSAGES OF THE 2004 MINISTERIAL

• Some progress has been made, but overall we are
  not on track to meet the commitments in the OECD
  Environmental Strategy.
• Considerable progress water management
  addressing environmental and health risks from
  chemicals reducing local air pollutants entry
  into force of multilateral environmental
  agreements (e.g. for fisheries, POPs).
• Challenges remain addressing climate change
  sustainable use of biodiversity resources
  switching to cleaner fuels reducing pressures
  from road and air transport greening
  agricultural subsidies.
• For successful policy implementation
  Environment Ministers need to work in partnership
  with other Ministers, countries, and stakeholder
  partners to overcome obstacles to policy
  implementation.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate change development
• 2003-2004 Case studies on climate change
  adaptation
• 11-12 November 2004 GFSD event on Climate and
  Development
• 2005 Synthesis report Bridge Over Troubled
  Waters
• 2006 Joint Environment-Development Ministerial
  Meeting
• Benefits of climate change policies
• 2006 GFSD event on benefits of climate policy
• AIXG climate policy technical papers
• 2005-2006 Topics include climate-related
  technologies, institutional capacity building,
  CDM, trading, and adaptation (COP-11)
• OECD Environmental Outlook modelling
• 2006-2007 developing modelling capacity release
  2nd OECD Environmental Outlook in 2007.

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WATER RESOURCES

• Financing water supply and sanitation
• Improving incentives full cost recovery water
  tariffs
• Addressing social aspects of water pricing

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INDICATORS AND PEER REVIEWS

• Lessons from the second cycle of OECD
  Environmental Performance Reviews
• Environmental Indicators
• Contribution to decision making and to
  environmental democracy
• The Cancun conference, 28-29 November 2005