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16 September 1992
Doc. 6666
1403-14/9/92-4-E
O P I N I O N
on the activities of OECD in 1991
on environmental, energy and urban policy issues1
(Rapporteur: Mr EISMA, Netherlands, D'66)
A. INTRODUCTION
The traditional contribution of the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities to the debate on the activities of OECD takes the form of an opinion on those aspects which fall within its sphere of competence, that is to say environmental policy and urban, rural and regional affairs, and also the activities of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In preparing this opinion, the committee exchanged views with the Director of the OECD Environment in the course of a meeting held in Paris on 8 September 1992.
That discussion provided the committee's members with an appreciable amount of additional information on the content of certain activities, the results anticipated and planned follow-up action.
B. BRIEF SURVEY OF ACTIVITIES OF THE OECD IN AREAS OF CONCERN
1. The International Energy Agency (IEA) (Chapter 4 of the OECD report)
While much of the work of the IEA was focused both on consequences of the Gulf War and on outreach to non-IEA member countries, the Agency nevertheless conducted its work in other areas including the one of energy and environment. As far as the latter is concerned, the IEA continued an intensive effort to integrate environmental concerns into all aspects of energy policy. Among the activities which have been completed in the course of 1991 we can point out especially :
a. Study on "Energy Efficiency and the Environment" which evaluates potential in a range of end-use sectors and examines the environmental benefits of achieving this potential (especially in terms of reducing of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions).
b. Report on "Climate Change Policy Initiatives" which was distributed to participants involved in the climate change framework convention negotiations. The report contains climate change policy initiatives related to energy and up-to-date descriptions of policies in each of the OECD countries aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
c. Study on "Greenhouse Gas Emissions - The Energy Dimensions" which brings together a comprehensive discussion on the relationship between energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
d. Guidelines for the "Economic Analysis of Renewable Energy Technology" which presents guidelines for computing the costs of eight renewable energy technologies.
e. Report on "Fuel Efficiency of Passenger Cars" examines factors affecting fuel demand and ways in which regulatory measures to limit pollution caused by passenger cars have affected fuel use.
2. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) (chapter 5 of the OECD report)
The events of major significance in 1991 highlighted the importance for all countries of the need to further reduce their vulnerability to oil supply disruptions, to meet the growing demand for electricity and to protect the environment. In these circumstances there seems to be a better understanding of the substantial contribution that nuclear energy can make to overall energy supply, while providing, at the same time, an important response to the challenge of minimising greenhouse gas emissions and representing an essential element of the diversification of energy supplies.
Underlying the future role of nuclear power is the equally clear recognition of the need to ensure the highest available safety standards. Accordingly, attention during the year was largely devoted to a wide deployment of international activities to assist Eastern and Central European countries, particularly in the field of nuclear safety.
The NEA has also started to address the more general problems of environmental restoration and waste minimisation, particularly with regard to "mixed wastes" which are contaminated by both radioactive and other toxic and hazardous materials.
As far as accident management of nuclear power stations is concerned, a programme concentrated on the assessment of radiological consequences and emergency planning issues has been carried on.
3. Environmental policy (Chapter 6 of the OECD report)
In January 1991, OECD Environment Ministers, meeting to cope with growing preoccupations concerning the ecological situation, formulated priority objectives in the form of an "OECD Environment Strategy for the 1990s". The strategy emphasised the urgency of co-operation with other international bodies, integration of environmental and economic policies and wider use of economic instruments and pricing policy. The Environment Ministers paid special attention to energy efficiency problems and to assistance to nations in Eastern and Central Europe. They also recognised that environmental policy making in the coming decade must take account of international considerations, for global scale problems require global solutions. Furthermore, your Rapporteur welcomes the attention attached by the Ministers to strengthening environmental education at all levels, bearing in mind that it is a field of action which falls entirely within the competence of the Council of Europe.
Another meeting of OECD Ministers of Environment and Development Co-operation, the first of its kind, was held in December 1991 in Paris and was devoted to the problems of sustainable development, considered to be a keynote of environmental policy.
As in the past, the other OECD's activitites on environmental problems has focused on the following main themes: economics and environment, pollution and waste, chemicals, urban affairs and non-member countries.
With regard to the interactions between economics and environment, the OECD continued endeavours to integrate environmental problems into the economic policies of its member states. In this context, it focused on the use of economic instruments, particularly those for adapting fiscal systems to environmental protection needs and the introduction of "eco taxes". This point has been endorsed in a press release from the ministerial meeting in January 1991, in which the Ministers welcomed the recent expansion in the use of the above mentioned instruments (for example, taxes, charges and tradeable permits) and strongly supported this trend. Furthermore, the Ministers approved a set of "OECD guidelines" to assist member countries make more effective and widespread use of these instruments.
Other activities in this field of action dealt with natural resources management (a final report on coastal zone management was completed and studies were initiated to examine induced causes for soil degradation and erosion); trade and environment issues and strategies aimed at combating global warming. Finally the OECD published the third "Report on the state of the environment" which testifies to progress being made on many fronts in OECD countries. However, much remains to be done, for successes are far too limited, both in scope and collective impact.
In the field of air pollution and waste, emphasis seems to be given to air quality management and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As regards the former, work continud in three areas: clean transportation systems, hazardous air pollutants and alternative policy instruments. Together with activities concerning motor vehicle emissions (a report on long-term trends in motor vehicle emissions has been finalised), several projects dealing with impacts of emissions from global air traffic and hazardous air pollutants in urban areas are being developed. Where concrete measures are concerned, a comprehensive approach has been proposed, which includes such options as different vehicle designs, the use of alternative transportation fuels and optimised traffic management. Other activiies were set up in co-operation with the IEA, like two technology-oriented conferences (Berlin, March 1991, and Sydney, November 1991) and policy proposals for stimulating enviornmentally friendly technologies and products.
As far as waste management policy is concerned, the OECD work focused substantially on developing appropriate controls for the international movement of waste so that possibilities for recovering useful materials could be maximised while ensuring that the environment is properly protected. In addition, strategies to reduce waste from packaging materials have been explored.
As regards chemicals, OECD continued to direct its efforts towards risk evaluation of existing chemicals. That is why a study is being prepared on 147 high production volume chemicals. Several workshops were held to address questions of prevention of accidents involving hazardous substances, exposure assessment and aquatic effects assessment. The rapporteur especially welcomes the last mentioned activity, the results of which contribute to the protection of water sources, fully in line with the "Freshwater Europe" action programme launched by the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities of the Council of Europe.
Other activities were aimed at risk reduction of selected chemicals, that is, cadmium, lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants and methylene chloride.
With respect to chemicals management, OECD has attributed special attention to assistance to Central and Eastern European countries and organised a workshop to the attention of these countries on importing hazardous chemicals. Furthermore, an ad hoc meeting on regional co-operation for the management of hazardous chemicals, organised under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Europe with the co-operation of OECD, was held in Austria.
Last but not least, environmental aspects of biotechnology are being examined by the OECD Environmental Directorate.
Emphasis in the fourth sector of OECD activities in connection with the environment, that of urban affairs, was put on three kinds of problems which urban collectivities must face today, that is
urban travel, energy management and livable environments in cities (including housing).
Projects realised so far highlight the following principles for ensuring sustainable development in cities: introduction of economic instruments, extension of "polluter-pays" principle, establishment of public/private partnerships and improving the financing framework.
Your Rapporteur particularly welcomes a complementarity of goals introduced in the European Urban Charter (Resolution 234 adopted at the 27th session of the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe in March 1991) with the above-mentioned OECD activities.
The same kind of complementarity can be observed in relations with Central and Eastern European countries for these relations have been awarded a privileged position by the Council of Europe.
OECD has launched a new programme of co-operation with these countries which concentrates on linkages between environment and economies in reconstruction, transferring experience and assessing environmental conditions.
Moreover, OECD participated in the process leading to the June 1991 meeting of European Environment Ministers in Dobris, Czechoslovakia, and is working actively on the follow-up ministerial conference to be held in Switzerland in spring 1993. Having in mind the important role of the Council of Europe in the above-mentioned conferences, your Rapporteur would like to underline the necessity of co-ordination in the work of both organisations for the ministerial conference in 1993.
In pursuit of the activities following the European Year launched at the initiative of the Council of Europe, OECD continued to pay particular attention to rural development. In accordance with the press release of the Ministers in January 1991, agricultural reform ought to move towards ecologically friendlier, sustainable agricultural practices. There is a particular need to introduce low-energy, low polluting systems based on new technologies and prices for agricultural inputs that more fully reflect their environmental costs.
C. CONCLUSIONS
The Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities appreciates the important achievements accomplished by OECD in the environment field, especially as regards the integration of ecological measures into different policies of its member states with the aim of ensuring sustainable development. Actually, the number and importance of OECD activities reflect an increasing interest in environmental questions on a world-wide scale, as witnesses the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992.
Taking into account a multitude of points which the Council of Europe and OECD have in common when it comes to their respective ecology-oriented activities, your Rapporteur would like to stress the need for co-operation between both organisations. Undeniably, one of the priorities of this co-operation must be assistance to Central and Eastern European countries, for both the Council of Europe and OECD deploy an enormous effort in order to contribute to the reform process in these countries. In this context, your rapporteur underlines the necessity of a harmonised approach to the preparatory works for the Ministerial Conference on the Environment in Lugano in 1993.
There is also a place for collaboration in the field of urban policy, particularly where the realisation of the objectives of the European Urban Charter (Resolution 234 adopted by the CLRAE in March 1992) is concerned.
It is evident that the work of OECD has contributed to highlight the global and inter-disciplinary character of ecological problems and the need for co-ordinated action to resolve them.
Reporting committee: Committee on Economic Affairs and Development (Doc. 6651).
Committee for opinion: Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities (and competent committees).
Budgetary implications for the Assembly: None.
Reference to committee: Doc. 6624 and Reference No. 1792 of 30 June 1992.
Opinion: Approved by the committee on 8 September 1992.