Reports

This guidance sets out elements of credible corporate climate transition plans, which aim to align with the temperature goal of the Paris Agreement. Such plans are needed to address the growing risk of greenwashing in transition finance and facilitate a global, whole-of-economy climate transition. Based on extensive stakeholder consultations, including an industry survey, the guidance provides market actors, policy makers, and regulators with a comprehensive overview of existing transition finance approaches, identifying the main challenges and solutions. The guidance is relevant to: (i) policy-makers and regulators seeking to develop or revise relevant policy frameworks or regulations; (ii) corporates developing transition plans and seeking to identify the most salient elements of existing initiatives; and (iii) financial market participants planning to provide finance for the implementation of net-zero strategies. The guidance emphasises greater transparency, comparability and granularity in corporate transition plans, and the need for adequate environmental and social safeguards. In light of challenges for some corporates, especially in emerging markets and developing economies, and the risk of excluding key actors from transition finance, the guidance highlights the need for policy-makers to take stronger action to bolster domestic enabling environments for transformative investments.

Despite remarkable improvement in water supply and sanitation services, Estonia faces finance and investment challenges to keep up with social expectations and environmental health regulations. With downward demographic trends expected to affect water utilities revenues and the projected phasing out of EU water funding, which was essential in the rapid improvement of service provision over the last two decades, substantial efficiency gains are required to transition towards sustainable water service provision. Towards Sustainable Water Services in Estonia presents a strategy and action plan to promote efficiency gains for water supply and sanitation services in Estonia, focusing on the consolidation of service provision. The report provides consolidation scenarios and accompanying measures, including depreciation methods for granted assets, and benchmarking methods going beyond cost comparisons to performance levels and the ambition of development plans. It also shares insights for countries facing similar challenges or seeking to improve the efficiency of water service provision. The project was undertaken in collaboration with – and with the financial support of the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.

Since 2006 Lithuania has taken steps to ensure higher operational efficiency and to reduce the disparity in prices for water supply and sanitation services. However, progress has been slow. Concerns have emerged regarding representation of small municipalities in consolidated utilities and increased costs for some consumers. Reform of Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment in Lithuania presents practical options to implement the national strategy towards the consolidation of water supply and sanitation services in Lithuania as a tool to foster operational efficiency and financial sustainability of the sector. Analyses and recommendations benefitted from discussions in two pilot regions in Lithuania, to test the practicality of consolidation scenarios and accompanying measures. Particular attention is paid to tariff setting and different modes of benchmarking – including development plans benchmarking - as tools to incentivise performance. The report provides insights for countries facing similar challenges or seeking to improve the efficiency of water service provision. The project was undertaken in collaboration with – and with the financial support of – the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission.

Society’s dependence on space infrastructure is at a critical juncture. Public and private actors worldwide are planning to launch tens of thousands of satellites into Earth’s orbit in the next five years. This will greatly expand and enrich the use of space resources, but it will also result in more crowded orbits and greater risk of damage from satellite collision and space debris. As satellite launches continue to multiply and concerns grow, the long-term sustainability of space-based infrastructure on orbit and beyond is set to emerge as an increasingly important space policy issue of the 21st century. This publication takes stock of the growing socio-economic dependence of our modern societies on space assets, and the general threats to space-based infrastructure from debris in particular. Notably, it provides fresh insights into the value of space-based infrastructure and the potential costs generated by space debris, drawing on new academic research developed especially for the OECD project on the economics of space sustainability.

L'Agenda 2030 pour le développement durable est un ensemble d'objectifs et de cibles qui visent à transformer notre monde dans le sens de la durabilité. Alors qu'il reste moins d'une décennie pour atteindre ces objectifs, la zone OCDE dans son ensemble n'a atteint ou n'est sur le point d'atteindre qu'un quart des objectifs. Cette synthèse explore les principales conclusions de notre rapport Un chemin court et sinueux jusqu’à 2030 : Mesurer la distance à parcourir pour atteindre les cibles des ODD qui examine la lenteur des progrès réalisés par les pays de l'OCDE pour atteindre de nombreuses cibles des ODD et souligne la nécessité d'actions politiques fortes pour réaliser l'ensemble de l'Agenda 2030. Favoriser l'inclusion, inverser la baisse à long terme de la confiance des citoyens dans les institutions et répondre aux pressions environnementales croissantes sont quelques-uns des domaines clés sur lesquels les pays de l'OCDE doivent se concentrer pour progresser davantage.

The manufacturing industry is a major source of global carbon dioxide emissions. Industrial production will continue to shift to emerging and developing economies. New investments are needed in low-carbon technologies to align industry’s growth with countries’ net-zero emission targets. In order to reduce the risks associated with the high cost and low maturity of the many needed low-carbon technologies, scaling up finance from both public and private financial sources will be crucial. OECD’s new 'Framework for industry’s net-zero transition' is a step-by-step approach to assist emerging and developing economies in designing solutions for financing and to improve the enabling conditions that can accelerate industry’s transition. Outcomes of the Framework implementation in emerging and developing economies will contribute to the broader climate and finance policies and it can help to facilitate international co-operation for transition at scale.

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.

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’.

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.

Au cours de la dernière décennie, le Royaume-Uni a réduit plusieurs pressions environnementales tout en développant son économie. Anticipant sa présidence de la Conférence des parties à la Convention-cadre des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques en 2021, il a montré la voie en relevant ses ambitions nationales. Cependant, la pollution atmosphérique, la détérioration des actifs naturels et les objectifs manqués en matière de biodiversité sont autant de sujets de préoccupation. Des efforts supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour réduire à zéro les émissions nettes de gaz à effet de serre d'ici 2050, se préparer au changement climatique, inverser la perte de biodiversité et mettre en place une économie circulaire plus économe en ressources. Le renforcement de la coordination entre les gouvernements britannique et décentralisés, ainsi que l'amélioration de la cohérence entre les politiques sectorielles et environnementales seront essentiels. Ceci est le troisième Examen environnemental du Royaume-Uni. Il évalue les progrès réalisés vers la croissance verte, avec un chapitre spécial consacré à la gestion des déchets et des matières et l'économie circulaire. La présente version abrégée contient le résumé, de même que l’évaluation et les recommandations officielles du rapport. Le rapport complet est disponible en anglais sur le site web de l’OCDE.