Tenting tent, Mummy Down...

This report aims to help environmental and other competent authorities in OECD countries to promote green business practices among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It analyses different ways to establish environmental regulatory requirements for facilities with low environmental risk (most of which are SMEs).

Worldwide, 62 billion tons of natural resources – minerals, wood, metals, fossil and biomass fuels, and construction material – are extracted. On average, that’s almost 10 tons for every person on the earth. Of that, about one fifth ends up as waste and must be reused, recycled or disposed of in a way that is safe for people and the environment.

Secretary-General Angel Gurría launched the 2012 Development Co-operation Report “Lessons in linking sustainability and development” at the 48th High Level Meeting of the Development Assistance Committee in London.

The conference discussed the results of the project as well as policy recommendations on training and skills development for the creation of an innovative and competitive SME sector in OECD countries.

Information on and background documents for the Green Growth African Regional Workshops, 15-18 January 2013. The workshops presented conceptual issues and policy tool kits on implementing green growth policy measures and strategic environmental assessments.

Two new OECD reports provide wide-ranging evidence of how reforming subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels can help countries boost finances and meet green objectives.

A new OECD report presents around 550 measures that support fossil-fuel production or use in the OECD’s 34 member countries and also highlights the successes and challenges in bringing about reform, says this OECD Insights blog post.

New business models can help reduce environmental pollution, optimise the use of natural resources, increase productivity and energy efficiency, and provide a new source of economic growth. The development of new business models is also affected by a range of barriers, many of which can be addressed by well-designed policies.

Although the market for green goods and services is growing, the development of new business models is affected by a range of barriers, many of which can be addressed by well-designed policies.

In his speech to OECD Ambassadors, the President of Iceland discussed how Iceland could offer lessons on the nature of a clean energy economy; and presented some insights from Iceland's recent challenges in dealing with the financial crisis.

Long-term projections suggest that without policy changes, the continuation of business-as-usual economic growth and development will have serious impacts on natural resources and the ecosystem services on which human well-being depends.

To benefit fully from cross-border trade in electricity, interconnected countries need to establish a non-discriminatory trading regime based on co-operation and co-ordination, says this study of trade in renewables-based electric power in Europe.

Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre 23 – 24 May

Boosting private sector investment in sustainable transport infrastructure will be essential as governments seek to meet long-term economic and environmental objectives at a time of constrained public finances, according to a new OECD report.

Cities can generate growth and jobs while becoming greener – this is the message of the OECD’s new Green Growth in Cities report. Drawing on case studies of Paris, Chicago, Kitakyushu and Stockholm, the report identifies green policies that can respond to urban growth priorities and suggests how to implement and finance them.

Green Growth in Cities presents the OECD Green Cities Programme’s main findings and policy recommendations, and provides a preliminary approach to measuring green growth in cities

Investment strategies almost never consider external costs to the environment when calculating potential returns. But incorporating environmental risk and sustainability into investor mindsets is possible– and urgent.

With 7 billion people in the world today and 9 billion by 2050, we must invest in development that will meet the growing demands for food, water and energy. The new OECD publication Putting Green Growth at the Heart of Development suggests that these investments could define a path for inclusive growth and sustainable development by focusing on people’s needs and prospects while respecting the environment.

Following the delivery of the Strategy in May 2011, green growth will be mainstreamed in OECD analytical work to enrich guidance on a number of country, sector and issue-specific areas. This will involve integrating green growth considerations in Economic Surveys, Environmental Performance Reviews and Innovation Reviews.

Credible and consistent carbon pricing must be the cornerstone of government actions to tackle climate change, according to a new OECD report.

Carbon taxes and emission trading systems are the most cost-effective means of reducing CO2 emissions, and should be at the centre of government efforts to tackle climate change,according to a new OECD study.

The 2013 Forum was held on 5-6 December and discussed how governments can improve their investment policy framework to reduce the risk and attract long-term private finance in support of green growth.

New international rules on state financing of rail exports will boost the development of cleaner transportation infrastructure and help countries meet green growth objectives, the OECD said.

The last decade has seen considerable policy attention to the social economy and its contribution to employment, in particular as regards the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable workers and the provision of appropriate working conditions.

The Ministerial Green Growth Group (GGG) is an informal grouping of like-minded energy, environment and climate Ministers from across 13 EU member states who have come together to work towards a pro-growth and pro-climate EU agenda. The group meets regularly to discuss and co-ordinate positions on EU low carbon matters and to promote, with businesses and investors, an ambitious EU decarbonisation growth agenda.

Risk finance is essential for new ventures to commercialise new ideas and grow, especially in emerging sectors. Yet very little is known about the drivers and characteristics of risk finance in the green sector. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed description of risk finance in the green sector across 29 countries and identifying the role that policies might have in shaping high-growth investments.

The OECD’s 34 member countries today affirmed their common resolve to work towards a deal on combating climate change at the COP21 talks in Paris in 2015. OECD accession countries Colombia and Latvia joined the statement issued at the Organisation’s annual Ministerial Council Meeting, attended by finance, economy, trade and other ministers.

Twenty years ago climate change was viewed as just an environmental issue. Today it is squarely an economic issue. Climate change poses significant risks to our economic systems that could result in very large damages. To mitigate these risks we need to radically transform our economies and societies to stop global warming.

The report presents the potential of new nanomaterials and highlights the remaining challenges for their safe and sustainable introduction in the tyre industry.

Let’s be honest, waste reduction doesn’t have much of a ring to it. To many, it’s a complex policy issue without much hope if consumers keep throwing their cans away in the street.

Webinar presenting OECD’s and UNEP’s Compendium of Best Practices in Green Public Procurement

The G20 needs to go structural, social, and green! With fiscal and monetary policy room nearly exhausted, structural reforms are the best choices, sometimes the only choice. The OECD battle cry in this regard has been unchanged since 2008: “go structural!”.

This Forum examined the distributional consequences of implementing green growth strategies and their impact on employment, skills and income.

As environmental pressures continue to rise, governments throughout the OECD area have not been sitting back. If anything, the stringency of their policy measures has been increasing on the whole, not least to combat pollution and climate change. And as the evidence shows, stringent environmental policies can be introduced without hurting overall productivity.

Climate policy and competitiveness issues have created a new need for international co-ordination, beyond the scope of our current frameworks. There is no need to trade economic growth for environmental stringency. Environmentally stringent policies are an incentive for greater efficiencies which leading edge companies can easily achieve.

Natural resources provide essential raw materials and other commodities, and are an important source of income and jobs. They also support the provision of ecosystem services necessary to develop human and social capital.