Environment Focus

By OECD Environment Directorate Thank you for reading and following the OECD Environment Focus blog here on WordPress over the years. Together, we’ve explored issues ranging from climate change, biodiversity and water, to the circular economy, green finance and environmental health. We have now...

By Lylah Davies and Sophie Trémolet, OECD Environment Directorate Developed and developing economies alike are exposed to water risk. The numbers are staggering. 2.2 billion people, a quarter of the world’s population, do not have access to safely managed water supply and 1.7 billion...

By Marijn Korndewal and Sophie Trémolet, OECD Environment Directorate With the French President and the Mayor of Paris looking to take a dive in the river Seine soon, water quality is hot news in France in the run-up to the Olympics. The burning question...

By Daniel Nachtigall, OECD Environment Directorate As we turn the page on the hottest year on record, communities across the globe are facing the accelerating impacts from climate change. 2023 witnessed unprecedented extreme weather events, from heatwaves, to wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. From Cyclone...

Find out what our readers enjoyed the most in 2023. Our top 5 blogs discuss a range of issues from financing water to the evolution of climate policies, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, the affect of climate change on careers, and building resilience to...

By Moongyung Lee and Joseph Cordonnier, OECD Environment Directorate In the 19th century, when William Nicholson and Sir Anthony Carlisle discovered the electrolysis process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, they could not have foreseen the potential to develop a “hydrogen economy” in...

By Halvor Hvideberg, Ambassador of Norway to the OECD The maritime sector occupies a critical position in global efforts to transition to net-zero. It accounts for up to 3% of global CO2 emissions, surpassing aviation, and if unchecked, could see a dramatic increase by...

Nicolina Lamhauge, Katherine Hassett, Rose Mba Mébiame and Ioannis Tikoudis, OECD Environment Directorate Autumn in Paris brings back memories of a cold and uncomfortable winter last year. Not because temperatures were particularly low – quite the opposite. Like a number of other European countries...

By Sirini Jeudy-Hugo, OECD Environment Directorate The next round of international climate negotiations at COP28 in Dubai mark a critical juncture. They should prepare the ground for countries to step up their climate ambition and action in response to the first global stocktake of...

by Julia Wanjiru Nikiema “Not enough, too slow, too late. Welcome to my world!” With these words, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck reflected on Germany’s current climate policy at the launch of the 2023 OECD Environmental Performance Review of Germany and the OECD Economic Survey...

by Kern Fastrup, OECD Environment Directorate Record-breaking temperatures and frequent climate disasters have become a new unsettling reality, causing billion-dollar losses and reversing global development. In response, corporates are stepping up action on climate change. Although still not ubiquitous, net-zero commitments are rapidly becoming...

By Elisa Lanzi (OECD Environment Directorate), Francesca Borgonovi (OECD Centre for Skills) and Helke Seitz (OECD Centre for Skills) Students around the world who have recently finished their secondary education are about to face a new phase of their lives. Those planning to continue...

By Sophie Lavaud, Simon Touboul and Catherine Gamper, OECD Environment Directorate Just as we thought we could get out of an unprecedented global drought that marked the year of 2022, the world continues to face a ferociously dry summer. Spain is struggling with the...

By Kilian Raiser, OECD Environment Directorate Action on climate change has never been more urgent. With current levels of global warming, scientists warn that some catastrophic climate system ‘tipping points’ are already dangerously close to being triggered. Governments and society must act fast to...

By Catherine Gamper, Sophie Lavaud and Agnes Szuda, OECD Environment Directorate 17 June marks the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, a year after unprecedented droughts plagued regions across the world. In Europe, the Po River basin – Italy’s breadbasket –  faced the...

by Sho Yamasaki, OECD Environment Directorate Israel is one of the world’s most arid countries, but its small open economy is fertile ground for tech-driven innovation. The country boasts the highest concentration of start-ups per capita in the world. Tech start-ups and their dynamic...

By Daniel Nachtigall, OECD Environment Directorate and Antoine Dechezleprêtre, OECD Directorate for Science Technology and Innovation The European Union (EU) put forward an ambitious climate mitigation target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 55% below 1990 levels by 2030. How will...

by Aude Farnault and Xavier Leflaive, OECD Environment Directorate As leaders prepare to gather in New York later this month at the  UN 2023 Water Conference[1], the world turns its attention to the critical importance of water in the global development agenda and the...

We have seen a growing number of countries strengthen their emission reduction pledges by updating their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or by pledging carbon neutrality targets towards mid-century. But with the increasing urgency of the climate crisis, what are countries actually doing to implement these targets and how has the climate policy landscape evolved over the last decade or …

2022 has been a year of environmental milestones, in a world faced with climate change and biodiversity loss. Rediscover our top 5 blogs from 2022 to learn more on a range of topics including ‘green water’, pandemic recovery, Norway’s environmental performance, and the environmental...