Environnement

This working paper takes stock of the literature on behaviourally-informed interventions to facilitate the transition to a circular economy and discusses measures that could be pilot tested in Italy. It provides an overview of the key concepts of behavioural economics and describes the main 'biases' that could influence the adoption of behaviours aligned with the transition to a circular economy by consumers. It goes on to review the empirical evidence on the motivations that may affect the adoption of such behaviours, as well as the empirical insights into the effectiveness of implemented behavioural interventions relevant to the circular economy transition. Finally, the paper introduces three proposals for experimental pilots in Italy.

A circular economy keeps the value of resources in the economy for longer, extends the useful lifespan of products and reduces waste, thereby reducing environmental and climatic pressures and increasing domestic competitiveness. Italy is among the leading European actors in transitioning to a circular economy. Its adoption of the National Strategy for the Circular Economy in 2022 reinforced the country’s ambition to rapidly shift from linear to circular modes of production and consumption. Among the envisioned measures, the national strategy calls for a stronger use of economic instruments to achieve a more coherent and effective policy mix. This report identifies opportunities for the enhanced use of economic instruments to support the circular economy in Italy. Part I of this report takes stock of the Italian policy landscape, compares it to international practices and recommends seven policy reforms for further consideration. Part II contains an in-depth analysis of three policy instruments that could reduce demand for virgin materials and promote a shift to secondary materials. These instruments include a virgin materials tax on construction minerals, a reduced VAT rate for products with recycled content and corporate tax credits to promote the use of secondary materials.

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’.

Natural hazard-induced disasters (NHID), such as floods, droughts, severe storms, and animal pests and diseases have significant, widespread and long-lasting impacts on agricultural sectors around the world. With climate change set to amplify many of these impacts, a 'business-as-usual' approach to disaster risk management in agriculture cannot continue if we are to meet the challenges of agricultural productivity and sustainability growth, and sustainable development. Drawing from seven case studies – Chile, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States – this joint OECD-FAO report argues for a new approach to building resilience to NHID in agriculture. It explores the policy measures, governance arrangements, on-farm strategies and other initiatives that countries are using to increase agricultural resilience to NHID, highlighting emerging good practices. It offers concrete recommendations on what more needs to be done to shift from coping with the impacts of disasters, to an ex ante approach that focuses on preventing and mitigating the impacts of disasters, helping the sector be better prepared to respond to disasters, and to adapt and transform in order to be better positioned for future disasters.

Ce rapport est le troisième examen des performances environnementales de l'Italie. Il évalue les progrès vers le développement durable et la croissance verte, et met l'accent sur les politiques qui favorisent une gestion plus efficace et efficiente de l'eau et la lutte contre le changement climatique.