Blogs and articles related to environment – OECD

OECD Environment Focus Blog

The OECD Environment Focus Blog aims to increase dialogue on a variety of environmental topics among policy makers, experts and the general public. Blog authors include OECD policy experts and occasionally guest authors. Visit the Environment Focus platform and sign up to receive email alerts each time we post.

BLOG posts

More blogs by tHEME

The blogs and articles featured below cover a range of environmental topics and were written by OECD experts and published on a variety of OECD or external platforms. Search by theme:

Air pollution

Biodiversity

Climate change

• COP26: Big steps forward on adaptation and resilience | 2021
• Managing climate risks in mountainous areas | 2021
• Deliberative democracy: A bottom up approach to solving the climate crisis | 2021
• Building it “right” in African cities — not back better | 2021
• Building resilience to natural disaster risk in agriculture | 2021
• Changing climate, changing coasts: Why resilience matters | 2021
• Climate resilience is essential for a sustainable financing system [également disponible en version française], by Michael Mullan, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation: Managing two sides of the same coin, by Catherine Gamper and Mikaela Rambali, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Let’s choose to challenge the climate crisis with a gender lens, by Sigita Strumskyte, Dimitra Xynou, Amelia Smith and Shanda Moorghen, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• 2021: Adaptation comes to the fore, by Catherine Gamper and Nicolina Lamhauge, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Harnessing nature to tackle the climate emergency, by Mikaela Rambali and Catherine Gamper, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Seeing the value in climate science | 2021
• Is the Covid-19 crisis spurring a transition to net-zero emissions in the oil and gas sector? by Andrew Prag and Guy Halpern, Environment Directorate | 2020
• COVID-19 and the climate crisis: Combining green budgeting and tax policy tools for a better recovery by Elsa Pilichowski, Director of Public Governance, and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration | 2020
• Towards a Clean Energy Transition in Viet Nam, by Aayush Tandon, Environment Directorate | 2020
• 5 things we learned at the OECD Wildfires Conference by Catherine Gamper and Lisa Danielson, Environment Directorate | 2020
• TEG it easy: The landmark EU Sustainable Taxonomy takes shape, by Mireille Martini, Green Finance and Investment, Environment Directorate | 2020
• Empowering women as clean energy entrepreneurs by Lylah Davies, Clean Energy Finance and Investment Mobilisation Programme, Environment Directorate | 2020
• Carbon tax, emissions reduction and employment: Some evidence from France / Taxe carbone : quel impact environnemental et économique dans le secteur manufacturier français ?  by Damien Dussaux, Environment Directorate | 2020
• Fighting the climate emergency? Enter national development banks, by Naeeda Crishna Morgado (independent expert) and Özlem Taskin, Development Co-operation Directorate  | 2019
• Digital planet: How smart technologies can help us solve our climate and infrastructure challenges by Zoe Lagarde | 2019
• Energy sector SOEs: You have the power! OECD On the level | 2018
• Green budgeting can spur governments to improve our planet’s bottom line by Ronnie Downes, Budgeting and Public Expenditures Division | 2018
• Climate change: Is shipping finally on board? by Olaf Merk, Shipping and Ports Experts, ITF  | 2017
• Blending finance for climate and poverty action by Naeeda Crishna Morgado and Jens Sedemund, Development Co-operation Directorate | 2017
• Managing earth: The land-water-energy nexus by Rob Dellink, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Renewed international commitment needed to fight climate change by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General | 2017
• Fossil fuel subsidies: Phase them out! OECD Observer | 2017
• Tracking climate finance: Progress and challenges by Nicolina Lamhauge, Development Co-operation Development Directorate, and Raphael Jachnik, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Water and climate: From Risk mangement to investment opportunity by Xavier Leflaive and Kathleen Dominique, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Investment in renewable energy: What policy makers must do to make it happen by Geraldine Ang, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Renewed international commitment needed to fight climate change by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General | 2017
• Climate-resilient Infrastructure: Getting the Policies Right by Michael Mullan, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Bridging the green investment gap in Latin America: what role for national development finance institutions? by Naeeda Crishna Morgado, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Carbon prices are still far too low to prevent climate change by Kurt Van Dender, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration | 2017
• Moving forward on climate: Looking beyond narrow interests by Anthony Cox, Acting Director, Environment Directorate | 2017
• What’s Good for the Climate Can Be Good for Growth Too by Catherine L. Mann, Chief Economist and Head of the Economics Department | 2017
• The government role in mobilising investment and innovation in renewable energy by Dirk Röttgers, Environment Directorate | 2017
• What’s holding back investment and innovation in renewable energy? by Geraldine Ang, Environment Directorate | 2017
• What’s Good for the Climate Can Be Good for Growth Too“, by Catherine L. Mann, Chief Economist | 2017
• Climate: Towards a just transition, with no stranded workers and no stranded communities by Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) | 2017
• Can green bonds fuel the low-carbon transition? by Hideki Takada and Rob Youngman, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Turning groundwater into farmers’ underground insurance against climate change by Robert Akam and Guillaume Gruère, Trade and Agriculture Directorate | 2017
• Resistance is futile. Higher carbon prices needed to guide the transition to carbon neutral growth by Ken van Dender, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration | 2016
• The climate scientist and the teacher by Laurent Bossard, Director, Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC) Secretariat  | 2016
• Can a shipping levvy affect the growth of Passive House in Australia by Scott Stewart, Australia-based Certified Passive House Designer | 2016
• Carbon emissions all at sea: why was shipping left out of the Paris Climate Agreement? by Shayne MacLachlan, Environment Directorate | 2016
• The other CCS | 2016
• Post Paris, should we be going for CCCS = Compulsory Carbon Capture and Storage? by Shayne MacLachlan, Environment Directorate | 2016
• COP21 was decades in the making, so how do we make future decades work for climate? by Shayne MacLachlan | 2016
• COP21 on the Insights blog
• How OECD and IEA contributed to COP21 | 2015
• COP21 agreement: A decisive turn point by the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría  | 2015
• Climate disclosure: knoweledge powers change by the OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría | 2015
• A Californian enigma: Record-high agricultural revenues during the most severe drought in history | 2015
• OECD Insights on COP21 | 2015
• Two secrets concerning a value chain approach to coprorate climate change risk management  | 2015
• The Haze Surrounding Climate Mitigation Statistics by Susi Tart, Environment Directorate | 2015
• If this is a war on emissions, governments need a strong arsenal by Susi Tart, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Dear Coal: it’s not you, it’s me… by Ariana Mozafari, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Investing in the future: People, planet, prosperity | 2015
• Overcoming Barriers to International Investment in Clean Energy by Geraldine Ang, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Saving Every Drop: How the OECD Reduces its Environmental Footprint by Ariana Mozafari, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Carbon Pricing: Does the OECD practice what it preaches? by Liisa-Maija Harju, Operations Service  | 2015
• Climate, Carbon, COP21 and Beyond | 2015
• Let’s talk money: What will it take to save our planet? by Ariana Mozafari, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Time is of the essence: can Indonesia phase out energy subsidies without hurting the poor? | 2015
• We must change faster than the climate by Simon Upton, Environment Director | 2015
• The opportunities and challenges of greener growth: Getting the whole policy package right by Catherine Mann, Chief Economist | 2015
• The Earth Statement: for an ambitious, science-based, equitable outcome to COP21 in Paris | 2015
• Climate change: Price carbon now, before low-cost oil says “ciao”  | 2015
• Band-aids won’t save the polar bears: smarter climate adaptation needed by Naazia Ebrahim, Environment Directorate | 2015
• A clearer picture of climate-related finance | 2014
• The climate is chaning, so should we! | 2014
• There’s no bailout option for the climate by Angel Gurría, Secretary-General | 2014
• Building a case for green private investment  | 2014
• Rain doesn’t follow the plow: climate change, agriculture and water | 2014
• Wake up and save the coffee: making development climate-resilient by Michael Mullan, Environment Directorate | 2014
• IPCC and climate change risks: what would you do? | 2014
• A call for zero net emissions by Secretary-General Angel Gurría | 2014
• Reducing fossil fuel emissions isn’t enough: We must aim for their complete elimination by the second half of the century | 2013
• Better Plays for Better Lives: A Midsummer Night’s Dream | 2013
• Avoiding death by diesel | 2013
• Climate change: Fisheries too | 2012
• Climate: The Doha Round | 2012
• Climate Change Ethics: where to start? | 2010
• Climate change: E-mailstrom | 2010

Environmental Outlook

Green growth

• The green recovery: an opportunity to address inequalities? | 2021
• The challenges of greening urban mobility in the post-pandemic era | 2020
• Greening France by OECD Observer | 2017
• Making sure the Blue Economy is Green by Dulika Rathnayake,Environment Directorate | 2017
• Urban green growth is about asking the right questions at the right time, by Maha Skah, Environment Directorate | 2016
• Playing the Long Game: Urban Green Growth, Spatial Planning and Land Use, by Ryan Parmentier, Environment Directorate | 2016
• Redefining an industrial revolution: OECD 2015 Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum (14-15 december 2015) by Ryan Parmenter, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Green and growing, or ripe and rotting? by Nathalie Girouard, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Transport, trade and tourism | 2015
• The Sharing Economy: How shared self-driving cars could change city traffic | 2015
• The opportunities and challenges of greener growth: Getting the whole policy package right by Catherine Mann, Chief Economist | 2015
• Mainstreaming Green Growth: Venice, the ideal place to wade through the issues by Ryan Parmenter, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Death and taxis: Why the Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum matters | 2014
• The arithmetick of green growth | 2012
• Not just for the rich: Green growth and developing countries | 2012
• Is green growth just a fantasy? Knowlegdge, innovation and the promise of a better life for all | 2011
• Towards a green growth strategy | 2011

Waste

• The price of plastic waste and solutions to turn the tide, by Stefanos Fotiou, Director, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP and Anthony Cox, Deputy Director, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Can modelling help better understand the transition to a more circular economy? by Ruben Bibas, Jean Chateau, Rob Dellink, Elisa Lanzi, Eleonora Mavroeidi, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• The price of plastic waste and solutions to turn the tide, by Stefanos Fotiou, Director, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP and Anthony Cox, Deputy Director, Environment Directorate | 2021
• COVID-19 and the looming plastics pandemic | 2020
• Never let water go to waste by Guillaume Gruère | 2019
• “Oceanfills”: Yet another dumping ground by Dulika Rathnayake, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Down in the dumps by Maroussia Klep, Environment Directorate | 2015
• Circular logic: why we don’t have to destroy to develop | 2015
• Making obsolescence obsolete: design to reduce waste by Maroussia Klep, Environment Directorate | 2014
• Message in a bottle: Producers not tax payers should pay for the waste they generate by Maroussia Klep, Environment Directorate | 2014
• Managing our natural resources: can we build more with less? by Peter Borkey, Environment Directorate | 2014
• Waste management: Does the OECD practice what it preaches? | 2012

Water

• see OECD Observer articles on water
• Water: Key to Food Systems Sustainability, by Makiko Shigemitsu and Guillaume Gruère, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate | 2021
• Flood watch on the river Seine: A return to 1910? by Charles Baubion, Directorate for Public Governance, and Clara Young | 2018
• City on the edge: Paris faces yet another major flood by Charles Baubion, Directorate for Public Governance and expert in Risk Governance within the OECD High-Level Risk Forum and Bill Below, Directorates for Public Governance and Financial and Enterprise Affairs | 2018
• Rice and risks in the Mekong River Delta by Robert Akam and Guillaume Gruere, Trade and Agriculture Directorate | 2018
• Rising sea levels: Will we adapt or drown? by Lisa Danielson and Michael Mullan, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Water and climate: From Risk mangement to investment opportunity by Xavier Leflaive and Kathleen Dominique, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Managing earth: The land-water-energy nexus by Rob Dellink, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Making sure the Blue Economy is Green by Dulika Rathnayake, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Under the sea by OECD Observer | 2017
• Diffuse water pollution: an invisible and growing threat by Hannah Leckie, Environment Directorate for World Water Day | 2017
• Turning groundwater into farmers’ underground insurance against climate change by Robert Akam and Guillaume Gruère, Trade and Agriculture Directorate | 2017
• Paris flood: A local disaster, a global challenge by Rolf Alter, Director, Public Governance and Territorial Development Directorate | 2016
• Carbon emissions all at sea: why was shipping left out of the Paris Climate Agreement? by Shayne MacLachlan, Environment Directorate | 2016
• The trillion dollar ocean by Claire Jolly, Head, Ocean Economy Group / OECD Space Forum, and Barrie Stevens, Senior Advisor, Science and Technology Policy Division | 2016
• Floods, droughts and doubts | 2016
• Californian enigma: Record-high agricultural revenues during the most severe drought in history | 2015
• Diving into empty pools | 2015
• Cities slickers and water security: governments getting their hands dirty by Xavier Leflaive, Environment Directorate  | 2015
• The Ripple Effect: Water-Energy-Food Nexus | 2014
• Partnership for water security by Simon Upton, Environment Director, for The Economist  | 2014
• Rain doesn’t follow the plow: climate change, agriculture and water | 2014
• Fighting the tide: Preparing for the water-related impacts of climate change by Kathleen Dominique, Environment Directorate | 2014
• OECD celebrates World Toilet Day | 2013
• World Water Day: Big problems but there are solutions | 2013
• Water stewardship: Does the OECD practice what it preaches? | 2012
• Where is our water going? | 2010
• Clean water, cold vaccines, cell phones = a simple way to save lives | 2010

OECD and World Environment Day (5 June)

OECD and World Water Day (22 March)

More themes

Chemicals

COVID-19 and environment

• Are lower pollution levels really the silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic?, By Rob Dellink, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Greening the recovery from COVID-19: how sustainable will it be?, by Andrew Prag, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• Is the Covid-19 crisis spurring a transition to net-zero emissions in the oil and gas sector? by Andrew Prag and Guy Halpern, Environment Directorate | 2020
• COVID-19 and the climate crisis: Combining green budgeting and tax policy tools for a better recovery by Elsa Pilichowski, Director of Public Governance, and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration | 2020
• The challenges of greening urban mobility in the post-pandemic era | 2020
• COVID-19 and the looming plastics pandemic | 2020
• Déja vu all over again …. Or is it? Learning from the past to green the COVID-19 recovery by Shardul Agrawala, Environment Directorate | 2020
• Why is there a shortage of disinfectants during the COVID-19 crisis? by Bob Diderich and Sylvie Poret, Environment Directorate | 2020

Ecological Footprint

Education and environment

Gender and environment

Greening household behaviour

Green recovery

Nitrogen

Ocean

• Changing climate, changing coasts: Why resilience matters | 2021
• The price of plastic waste and solutions to turn the tide, by Stefanos Fotiou, Director, Environment and Development Division, ESCAP and Anthony Cox, Deputy Director, OECD Environment Directorate | 2021
• The case for sustainable ocean finance by Andrew Prag and Shanda Moorghen, Environment Directorate | 2020
• “Oceanfills”: Yet another dumping ground by Dulika Rathnayake, Environment Directorate | 2017
• Greening France by OECD Observer | 2017
• Making sure the Blue Economy is Green by Dulika Rathnayake,Environment Directorate | 2017

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development Goals

• Environmental education: Knowledge is power! by Alexa Piccolo, Environment Directorate | 2020
• The Sustainable Development Goals and Development Co-operation by Erik Solheim, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee | 2016
• A Policy Pathfinder for the Sustaianble Development Goals by Ron Gass, founding Director, Directorate of Social Affairs, Manpower and Education and the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Education (CERI)  | 2016
• The Implications of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for the OECD by Patrick Paul Walsh, Professor of International Development Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland  | 2016
• The Sustainabale Development Goals: A Duty and an Opportunity by Gabriella Ramos, Special Counsellor to the OECD Secretary-General, Chief of Staff and G20 Sherpa | 2016
• The importance of a Policy Coherence Lens for Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals | 2016

Transport

Urban sprawl

World Toilet Day

CONTACT & SOCIAL MEDIA