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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 study assesses the implementation of the recommendations from the OECD Innovation Policy Review of Norway 2017 along four major themes: (1) Developing research communities of outstanding quality; (2) Enhancing competitiveness and innovation capacity; (3) Tackling major social challenges; and (4) Improving the governance of the science, technology and innovation system. The results of this assessment are then used to identify new opportunities for reforms in the Norwegian Long-term plan for Research and Higher Education 2023-2032. While focused on Norway, the report also provides lessons on key issues, such as the sustainable transition of advanced economies, that can be useful in other national contexts.

Much has changed in the space economy over the past decade, with an ever-growing number of countries and business enterprises involved in space activities. Despite progress made in the quality and availability of data, the international comparability of space economy statistics remains limited. A decade after its first publication, it is therefore time to provide an up-to-date revision of the OECD Handbook on Measuring the Space Economy to reflect the changing landscape of space activities, space technologies and subsequent evolving user needs. This new edition aims to encourage and facilitate data collection among both incumbents and new actors involved in space activities, respond to the needs of the public agencies that still fund the bulk of space programmes, and support industry and private decision-takers who will also benefit from improved statistics on the space economy.

Gender equality and environmental sustainability are gaining political momentum as global challenges that require urgent action at the national and international levels. Both figure prominently, albeit with limited interlinkages, in the United Nations Agenda 2030, and gender equality considerations are slowly making their way into international environmental and climate commitments. An integrated approach to gender equality and environmental sustainability – i.e. recognising the gender-environment nexus – could help to alleviate limitations to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment and enhance their roles in environmental sustainability and green growth. Likewise, enhancing gender equality, and women’s economic empowerment and decision-making, can lead to better environmental and climate outcomes and policies. This report observes the gender-environment nexus in the Greek policy framework. It assesses environmental and climate policies through a gender lens, and gender equality policies through an environmental lens. It focuses mainly on policies and measures that could support women’s economic empowerment in environment-related sectors; women’s environmental leadership and decision making; and mainstreaming gender equality and environmental sustainability in policy tools. It proposes a series of recommendations that, if taken on board, could support integrating the gender-environment nexus into Greece’s national policies.

The National Dialogue on Water in Thailand was initiated in 2021 under the regional initiative with the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea (MoE), the Asia Water Council (AWC) and the OECD. The Dialogue covers two main topics selected by the Government of Thailand (ONWR). The first one is water demand management, with a focus on the Eastern Economic Corridor. The second one is financing water supply and sanitation. Both combine to support a sustainable and resilient development pathway for Thailand's fast-growing economy. The analyses and policy recommendations cover issues such as the design of economic policy instruments, water allocation regimes, increasing demand for reclaimed water, or benchmarking the performance of water utilities, and blended finance for water supply and sanitation services. They are informed by the expertise of Thai stakeholders, the OECD and the Asia Water Council. They can be a source of inspiration in other contexts in South East Asia and globally.

Italy's National Action Plan for Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) brings together the institutional mechanisms, evaluation frameworks and coherence tools needed to integrate sustainable development into government policy making. This Action Plan shows how to streamline existing mechanisms to improve policy coherence across levels of government and to involve civil society more closely in policy formulation. It also suggests how to make the most of complementarities across existing data collection efforts. The Action Plan includes suggestions for better linking mandates across departments and levels of government to avoid overlap and make greater progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, it provides targets and measurable processes for each action to help track progress.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Fiji, hitting at backbone economic sectors, such as international tourism and export fisheries. It has also brought to the fore the need to embark on a more sustainable model of development. This report examines Fiji’s economic and sustainability trends, as well as the governance and financing of its ocean economy before and during the COVID-19 crisis. It provides an initial mapping of promising initiatives and funding instruments that can be developed and scaled up to foster a sustainable blue recovery, focusing on four main areas: sustainable fisheries, sustainable tourism, green shipping and marine conservation.

Over the past decade, the United Kingdom has reduced several environmental pressures while growing its economy. Ahead of its presidency of the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, it has led the way by raising its national ambition. However, air pollution, deteriorating natural assets and missed biodiversity targets are all concerns. Further efforts are needed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, prepare for climate change, reverse biodiversity loss and ensure a more resource-efficient circular economy. Strengthening co‑ordination between the United Kingdom and devolved governments, as well as enhancing coherence between sectoral and environmental policies will be key. This is the third Environmental Performance Review of the United Kingdom. It evaluates progress towards green growth, with a special chapter focusing on waste, materials management and the circular economy.