By Date

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.

For most countries in the Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) region, mining is an important economic sector that contributes to employment and public revenue. Despite mining’s potential to cause long-term negative environmental impacts, governments in the region have a vital role to play in supporting better environmental performance in the sector and ensuring the industry can be a progressive part of a greener economy. This report examines the environmental impacts of mining in the EECCA and provides policy makers with guidance to reconcile environmental and competitiveness objectives in the mining sector.

Recent digital innovations provide opportunities to deliver better policies for the agriculture sector by helping to overcome information gaps and asymmetries, lower policy-related transaction costs, and enable people with different preferences and incentives to work better together. Drawing on ten illustrative case studies and unique new data gathered via an OECD questionnaire on agri-environmental policy organisations' experiences with digital tools, this report explores opportunities to improve current agricultural and agri-environmental policies, and to deliver new, digitally enabled and information-rich policy approaches. It also considers challenges that organisations may face to make greater use of digital tools for policy, as well as new risks which increased use of digital tools may bring. The report provides practical advice on how policy makers can address challenges and mitigate risks to ensure digital opportunities for policy are realised in practice. Finally, the report briefly considers the broader regulatory and policy environment underpinning digitalisation of the agriculture sector, with the view to ensuring that use of digital tools for agricultural and agri-environmental policy remains coherent with the digitalisation of agriculture more generally.

As the world's premier forum for international economic co-operation, the G20 plays a critical role in helping to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Based on robust evidence and available data, this report examines how the G20's contributions to the global goals across key sectors are already making a difference, while also suggesting where it could go further in leading by example to support the global goals.Collectively, G20 members account for around 85% of global gross domestic product, 75% of world trade and 80% of global carbon dioxide emissions – to name just a few areas of the G20's influence. This report, commissioned by the Government of Japan in support of its 2019 G20 Presidency, takes stock of the G20's progress to date against its Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This report aims to support the development of a sound economic regulatory system for the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in the Republic of Moldova (hereafter 'Moldova'). The prevailing policy framework calls for drastic developments in WSS to modernise and optimise WSS systems and improve operational efficiency (non-revenue water, staff-output ratios etc.) – in line with domestic and international commitments (including the Association Agreement with the European Union, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the national WSS strategy). This report outlines ways and means for strengthening the capacity of the Moldovan government to provide sound regulation and that of WSS operators to deliver higher standards of service while ensuring the affordability of WSS services. Such a transition cannot happen overnight. It requires a sound economic regulatory system conducive to affordability, cost recovery and debt servicing, and a realistic performance improvement path for water utilities.

Kazakhstan has recorded impressive economic growth rates since its independence, driven mainly by export of commodities and high rate of energy use. These rates are not sustainable and are generating significant air pollution, in particular from industrial stationary sources. This is putting at risk the country’s development ambitions to become one of the top global economies by 2050 and converge towards OECD living standards. Building on OECD previous analysis, this publication shows that Kazakhstan’s environmental payments (environmentally related taxes, non-compliance penalties and compensation for damage regulation) for industrial air pollutants, as currently applied, impede energy efficiency and pollution abatement with heavy-handed non-compliance responses and focus on rising revenues. They also add to the cost of doing businesses in the country with limited environmental benefit. In the spirit of the Polluter-Pays Principle, much more reforms of regulation of environmental payments are needed. This report provides guidelines for reform drawing from air pollution regulations in OECD member countries and the results of the analysis of the system in Kazakhstan carried out by the OECD in close co-operation with the Government of Kazakhstan.

SDG target 17.14 calls on all countries to 'enhance policy coherence for sustainable development' as a key means of implementation. According to countries’ Voluntary National Reviews, this presents a major challenge. It requires meaningful collaboration and co-ordinated action across both policy sectors and different levels of government. It also requires balancing short-term priorities with long-term sustainability objectives and taking into account the impact of domestic policies on global well-being outcomes.The 2019 edition of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development looks at countries’ efforts to meet this challenge and identifies opportunities for accelerating progress. The third in a series, it shows how integrated and coherent policies, supported by strong institutional and governance mechanisms, can contribute to empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality.

Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populated country, and the largest archipelagic one. Vibrant economic growth has lifted millions of people out of poverty. Economic success, however, has come at a high environmental cost. Rapid land-use change and reliance on fossil energy make Indonesia one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. Deforestation and pollution are putting pressure on its megadiverse ecosystems. Environmental services such as water supply, sanitation and waste management need to be further expanded and improved. Advancing to a greener economy will require continued efforts to develop policies, strengthen institutions and secure sufficient resources.This is the first Green Growth Policy Review of Indonesia. It examines progress towards sustainable development and green growth, with a special emphasis on the nexus of land use, ecosystems and climate change.

The space economy is expanding and becoming increasingly global, driven by the development of ever-more governmental space programmes around the world, the multiplication of commercial actors in value chains, durable digitalisation trends, and new space systems coming of age. This report describes these emerging trends using new and internationally comparable data and indicators. It highlights the growing importance of space activities for the economy, for developing country strategies (based on original official development assistance statistics), for the pursuit of knowledge and scientific discoveries, and for society in general. To get the most out of space investments and promote sustained socio-economic growth, this report provides some recommendations to countries in building up their statistical evidence on space actors and activities.