Publications & Documents

The paper is the first in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The second paper is titled: ‘The environmental sustainability competence toolbox: From leaving a better planet to our children to leaving better children for our planet’.

The paper is the second in a series of two papers mapping young people’s environmental sustainability competence in EU and OECD countries that were prepared as background for the forthcoming OECD Skills Outlook 2023 publication. The papers are the results of a collaboration between the OECD Centre for Skills and the European Commission - Joint Research Centre (Unit B4) on students’ environmental sustainability competence. The first paper is titled ‘Young people’s environmental sustainability competence: Emotional, cognitive, behavioural and attitudinal dimensions in EU and OECD countries.

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

The OECD report Urban-Rural Linkages in Poland analyses the potential of urban and rural territories for development and improved well-being. Urban and rural areas have different yet often complementary assets, and their better integration is important for socio-economic and environmental performance. The report argues that local governments need to engage in partnerships where all parties are equal, as a higher form of urban-rural co-operation. Building urban-rural partnerships in Poland would help territories enhance the production of public goods; achieve economies of scale in public service provision; co-ordinate decisions where cross-boundary effects are important and increase the capacity of the partners. Yet a lack of trust and of policy integration hinder the effectiveness of partnerships. The report found that the main incentive for Polish local governments to enter into a partnership is access to EU funds. However, while Poland has developed solid experience in the management of EU funds, it would benefit from deepening the integration and complementarity among funding streams. Moreover, the report argues that strengthening metropolitan governance will underpin efforts to facilitate the formation and management of urban-rural partnerships.

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 to help drive secure and affordable clean energy transitions.Poland’s energy policy aims to decarbonise its energy supply through expanding renewable energy, introducing nuclear energy, powering transportation through electricity, and increasing energy efficiency across the economy. A central aspect of Poland’s energy policy is reducing the reliance on coal, especially for electricity generation and building heating. There is a strong policy focus on energy security and ensuring a just transition that maintains affordable access to energy and protects vulnerable consumers, while promoting economic growth.Poland has made notable progress on energy transition. It has one of the fastest growing markets for distributed solar PV in Europe, and it has developed a strong programme to drive offshore wind deployment. Poland has also taken important steps to improve energy security, like diversifying energy imports away from Russia. However, the country’s energy mix is still dominated by fossil fuels. All sectors have considerable work ahead to meet targets for increasing the share of renewables, lowering energy demand and reducing emissions.In this report, the IEA provides a range of energy policy recommendations to help Poland smoothly manage the transition to an efficient and flexible low-carbon energy system.

Around one-third of the European Union’s budget is dedicated to cohesion policy, which promotes and supports the overall harmonious development of its Member States and regions. The success of this investment relies on effective partnerships among governments, stakeholders, and citizens. Citizens have a key role to play in shaping decisions on public investment, as well as in making public authorities more transparent and accountable. From July 2020-December 2021, the European Commission and the OECD partnered to explore how five authorities across Europe could place citizens at the centre of their investment decisions. This report summarises lessons learned throughout this project and, particularly, the results of applying innovative citizen participation methods to cohesion policy more broadly.

This profile provides a concise and policy-relevant overview of health and the health system in Poland as part of the broader series of the State of Health in the EU country profiles. It provides a short synthesis of: the health status in the country; the determinants of health, focussing on behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the health system; and the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system. This edition has a special focus on the impact of COVID‑19. This profile is the joint work of the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in co-operation with the European Commission.