8-September-2016
English
Read what OECD bloggers have to say about topics as varied as air pollution, biodiversity, Paris Climate Agreement, environmental policies, green growth, investment, waste and water. Join the discussion on one or more of our blogs. Our latest blog: Playing the Long Game: Urban Green Growth, Spatial Planning and Land Use.
8-September-2016
English
This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected studies on environmental issues related to biodversity, climate change, country environmental performance, environmental-economic modelling, environmental innovation, environmental taxes, green investment and water scarcity.
8-September-2016
English
Anyone else feeling exhausted by all this drum humming about air pollution? Indeed it appears the fumes won’t be dissipating any time soon as we consider the extent to which tyre and brake rubbish exacerbate the problem.
8-September-2016
English
This Performance-Based Test Guideline (PBTG) describes in vitro assays, which provide the methodology of Stably Transfected Transactivation to detect Estrogen Receptor Agonists and Antagonists (ER TA assays). It comprises mechanistically and functionally similar test methods for the identification of estrogen receptor agonists and antagonists and should facilitate the development of new similar or modified test methods. The two reference test methods that provide the basis for this PBTG are: the Stably Transfected TA (STTA) assay using the (h) ERα-HeLa-9903 cell line, derived from a human cervical tumor, and the BG1Luc ER TA assay using the BG1Luc-4E2 cell line, derived from a human ovarian adenocarcinoma. The cell lines used in these assays express ER and have been stably transfected with an ER responsive luciferase reporter gene. The assays are used to identify chemicals that activate (i.e. act as agonists) and also suppress (i.e. act as antagonists) ER- dependent transcription. ER are activated following ligand binding, after which the receptor-ligand complex binds to specific DNA response elements and transactivates the reporter gene, resulting in increased cellular expression of a marker enzyme (e.g. luciferase in luciferase based systems). The enzyme then transforms the substrate to a bioluminescent product that can be quantitatively measured with a luminometer. These test methods are being proposed for screening and prioritisation purposes, but also provide mechanistic information that can be used in a weight of evidence approach.
6-September-2016
English
This event, with involvement from the OECD, on 6-7 September 2016, is of major strategic nature during the Slovak Presidency of the European Council. Its ambition is to improve understanding of the green economy concept, identify conclusions and pathways for transition as well as to involve and mobilise various actors and stakeholders in the discussions of possible future actions.
5-September-2016
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The OECD has welcomed the release by China and the US of peer reviews of their fossil fuel subsidies.
1-September-2016
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Launching an environmental review is a process of comprehensive research and analytical effort, that usually takes a year and a half. Find out more about the current work in progress for Estonia, Korea, New Zealand, Canada and Switzerland.
29-August-2016
English
Today, the challenge of water security is global and it is growing. We estimate that by 2050, over 40% of the global population will live under severe water stress; and as global population increases, so will tensions among different water uses.
26-August-2016
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Modelling work is aimed to assist governments in identifying the implications of major socio-economic trends on environmental pressures and the consequences of policies or policy mixes to address these. A new report provides a detailed quantitative assessment of the consequences of outdoor air pollution on economic growth through 2060.
26-August-2016
English
Climate change is not just about a change in climate towards hotter, wetter, and drier conditions, but also about an increase in the variability of the climate, as well as in the number and severity of extreme events.