This week, around 30,000 children under the age of five will die from water-related diseases, one every 20 seconds.

The GGKP’s second annual conference will be held at the OECD Headquarters in Paris on 4-5 April 2013. The discussion will be framed around two headline themes: Greening global value chains and Measurement and reporting for green growth.

The first meeting of the EaP GREEN Steering Committee was held on 26 April 2013 in Berlin to discuss with representatives of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries the overall priorities of the programme, specific activities to be carried out in 2013, and the means of programme implementation.

As we celebrate International Biodiversity Day, the outlook is not very encouraging. Around 12% of birds, 25% of mammals, and at least 32% of amphibians are threatened with extinction over the next century. Humans may have increased the rate of global extinctions by up to 1000 times the “natural” rate typical of Earth’s long-term history.

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.

This publication explains why green growth is vital to secure a more sustainable future for developing countries. Covering 74 policies and measures from 37 countries and 5 regional initiatives, this publication outlines an action-oriented twin-track agenda to guide national and international policies and practices to successfully tackle green growth.

Saving the environment falls into that category for many people, but the good news for the planet is that the OECD has identified a group of people who “believe that sacrifices will be necessary to solve environmental problems”.

People care for the environment, and a large majority state that they are willing to make compromises to green their lifestyle according to a new OECD survey of 12,000 households. However, the economic crisis has taken its toll, and the survey shows that the environment is slipping down on the list of people’s priorities.

This new data visualisation tool brings over 40 different climate-related data sets to life by using animated plots for the period 1990-2010.

Climate change mitigation and sustainability are the key rationales for increasing the share of renewable energy. Yet definitions of renewable energy used by policy-makers are so broad that subsidy regimes and other policies to promote renewable energy are able to result in highly negative climate, environmental and human impacts.

Evidence for the agricultural sectors of OECD countries from 1990 to 2010 shows improvements have been made in nutrient, pesticide, energy and water management, using less of these inputs per unit volume of output, according to this report. Environmentally beneficial practices by farmers, such as conservation tillage, improved manure storage, soil nutrient testing and drip irrigation, have also contributed to improvements.

The rise in international investment and trade in goods and services related to renewable energy has been rapid but not always smooth. This paper surveys, through the lenses of market-pull and technology-push policies, the numerous domestic incentives used by governments to promote renewable energy, focusing on those that might have implications for trade.

Efforts to document government support benefiting specific sectors or industries have paid scant attention to support given to the non-energy minerals sector. The issue of support for this sector is explored by way of a case study of Australia, a leading producer and exporter of minerals.

Governments around the world are encouraging people to factor the environment into their everyday lives and purchases. Is it leading to more sustainable consumption? Are households ‘going green’?

This paper provides an update on recent developments in the field of Regional Trade Agreements and the environment. Issues arising in the implementation of RTAs with environmental considerations are examined as well as experience in assessing their environmental impacts.

The OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050: Consequences of Inaction warns that by 2050, under a worst-case scenario, we could see a 10% biodiversity loss; 2.3 billion more people living in water-stressed areas; and a 50% increase in GHG emissions, primarily caused by a 70% growth in CO2 emissions from energy use.

Climate change combined with rapid population increases, economic growth and land subsidence could lead to a more than 9-fold increase in the global risk of floods in large port cities between now and 2050.

The OECD participated in this annual event held in Stockholm (1-5 September 2013) where two major reports "Water Security for Better Lives" and "Water and Climate Change Adaptation: Policies to Navigate Uncharted Waters" were launched by the OECD's Secretary-General, Angel Gurría.

Water shortages and floods illustrate the risks posed by too little, or too much, water. By 2050 more than 40% of the world’s population will live under severe water stress and nearly 20% could be exposed to floods.

Competitiveness and carbon leakage issues have been some of the main concerns in the implementation and discussions of climate policies. This paper examines the macroeconomic and sectoral competitiveness and carbon leakage impacts associated with a range of stylised mitigation policy scenarios.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will present a major address on the Organisation’s latest analysis of climate change, investment and energy policies in London on Wednesday 9 October, at 10:30am.

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

We must aim for their complete elimination by the second half of the century and need to come to grips with the risk of climate change. While many countries have announced ambitious targets to reduce fossil fuel emissions by 2020, and even mid-century, further efforts are needed.

The OECD is to review its chemical hazard assessment programme with the aim of providing a more specialised service for member countries from 2015.

The Government of Israel and the OECD co-organised an international conference on "Joining Forces to Develop Smart, Cost-Effective Urban Water Utilities: Policy, Economics, Environment, Regulation and Technologies" on 23 October 2013, in Tel Aviv.

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.

Environmental goods and services are now a bigger driver of Austria’s economy and job market than traditionally strong sectors like tourism and construction, thanks to the government’s policy of subsidising green investments, a new OECD report shows.

The OECD organised a number of events focused on key aspects of the negotiations: side events on tracking private climate finance, establishing and understanding post-2020 mitigation commitments, and credible policies to achieve climate targets and mobilise private finance. The OECD also convened a High Level Breakfast addressing the issues around long-term investment and green infrastructure.

This year the United Nations has officially declared 19 November World Toilet Day to raise awareness of the sanitation crisis faced by millions every day. Similarly, the OECD places great importance on the issue of water and sanitation. It has undertaken significant work on the issue to help promote global awareness, encourage action and propose viable solutions.

Issues related to water and sanitation are a priority for the OECD. A number of people working at the OECD are also involved through our War on Hunger Group. For example, last year the Group funded a project in Mozambique to reduce diarrhoea by at least 25% in children under the age of five by training in hygiene and changing current practices.

In the two decades since apartheid ended, South Africa has made impressive strides to catch up with – and in some cases surpass -- the developed world’s environmental standards.

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.

Colombia has made progress towards eliminating fuel and diesel subsidies and reducing discretionary spaces allowing for artificially low fuel prices, but challenges remain. This paper discusses the political economy of fuel subsidies in the country to understand why reform has been so slow.

In light of the UK floods, this 3-minute Q&A with OECD Environmental Economist Kathleen Dominique discusses how governments should be preparing for climate change-related weather events.

The Netherlands is a global pioneer in water management with a long history of containing flood risks and reclaiming land from the sea. Yet it will need to adapt its water governance policies to meet the looming challenges of shifting demographics, regional development and climate change, according to an OECD report.

With headlines of record‑breaking water-related disasters around the world, this blog, written by Kathleen Dominique, OECD Environment Economist, discusses the water impacts of climate change. This post is part of Wikiprogress' series on "water" and the "environment".

The latest Climate Change Report from the IPCC argues that human interference with the climate system is occurring, and climate change poses risks for human and natural systems. The report identifies eight major risks with high confidence, and says that each of these risks contributes to one of more of the five “reasons for concern”.

Colombia’s rich natural heritage as one of the world’s most bio-diverse countries is coming under increasing pressure from extractive industries, livestock grazing, urbanisation and car use, according to a new OECD report.

A new OECD report describes what Ethiopia and Columbia are doing to sustain development in a changing climate.

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.

Air pollution is costing advanced economies plus China and India an estimated USD 3.5 trillion a year in premature deaths and ill health and the costs will rise without government action to limit vehicle emissions, a new OECD report says.

For World Environment Day on 5 June 2014, the OECD Environment Directorate looks at how we use and manage natural resources.

Sweden has shown a longstanding commitment to the environment, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and nitrogen leaching. Renewables supply more than a third of its energy needs. Sweden has set itself tough targets for the future, however, and must continue to innovate if it is to meet them, according to a new OECD report.

In its 2012 edition of the World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency (IEA) produced an Efficient World Scenario to assess how implementing only economically viable energy efficiency measures would affect energy markets, investment and greenhouse emissions (GHG). Using the OECD ENV-Linkages macro-economic model, this report simulates the economic and environmental impacts which the IEA Efficient World Scenario implies.

This document provides a detailed technical description of the ENV-Linkages model. The OECD ENV-Linkages Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model is an economic model that describes how economic activities are inter-linked across several macroeconomic sectors and regions. It links economic activity to environmental pressure, specifically to emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs).

This paper presents a framework to include feedbacks from climate impacts on the economy in integrated assessment models. The proposed framework uses a production function approach, which links climate impacts to key variables and parameters used in the specification of economic activity. The paper pays particular attention to the challenges of distinguishing between damages and the costs of adapting to climate change.

Have you ever wondered who was paying to recycle that plastic bottle you just threw away?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is increasingly recognised worldwide as an efficient waste management policy to help improve recycling and reduce landfilling of products and materials. This Forum took place on 17-19 June 2014, in Tokyo, Japan, to identify key challenges and opportunities for further developing EPR policies.

This workshop focused on putting priorities into practice in OECD countries. Country-specific prioritisation, sectoral approaches, mainstreaming tools including questions on public sector finance and research needs were all topics covered during the two days of the workshop.