27 September 1995

Doc. 7406

CONTRIBUTION

by the Committee on the Environment,

Regional Planning and Local Authorities

to the enlarged debate of the Assembly on the

activities of OECD in 1994

by Mr SZYMANSKI,

Poland, Socialist Group

I.       INTRODUCTION

      In line with customary practice, the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities carried out a study of the sections in the OECD activity report which relate to the Committee's own fields of competence.

      Accordingly, the Committee held its annual exchange of views with representatives of the OECD Secretariat responsible for the fields in question. Following this meeting, the Committee felt it appropriate to make a few observations on the OECD's activities in the fields of energy (including nuclear energy), the environment and territorial development.

II.       ENERGY

      With the exception of nuclear energy, which is the remit of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), activities in the field of energy are the responsibility of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

      The IEA seeks to promote energy policies which reflect the growing interdependence of the world's economies and which are based on a gradual reduction of market intervention by public authorities.

      The basic principle underlying the approach to energy has remained the same since Rio. The energy market must be free and open, but clearly market forces cannot guarantee energy security and environmental protection, both of which require government intervention.

      Thus the strategies laid down by the Ministers in 1993 remain IEA priority activities: energy security, environmental protection and satisfactory economic growth. With these priority areas in mind, the IEA formulates, identifies and tries to encourage countries to adopt means of action which, by combining regulations and traditional economic instruments, will lead to increased efficiency and improved environmental protection.

      It should be pointed out that for several years the IEA Ministers have constantly stressed that environmental protection must be one of the primary goals of any energy policy.

      If we acknowledge that there is growing demand for energy and that as a result energy policies will continue to be largely based on the use of fossil fuels, priority attention needs to be given to the latter's energy efficiency and the clean combustion technologies which may be applied to them. Energy efficiency will lead to more economic resource exploitation, and new combustion technologies - of which at present only limited use is made in some cases - will help avoid the environmental damage caused by these fuels.

      Clearly, applying these technologies calls for high investment and occasionally entails running costs which may be out of the reach of the poorest and the developing countries alike. It is therefore a perfectly legitimate question to ask whether the more industrialised countries have a responsibility in this respect and a duty of solidarity which requires them to help finance ways of safeguarding the global environment.

      It is most encouraging to see that the IEA ministers have stressed the need to ensure that both energy and environmental considerations play a crucial part in defining policy. This is imperative if sustainable economic development is to be achieved.

      I would also like to stress that while the IEA gives priority to pollution reduction initiatives at national, regional and local levels, it is also planning action to overcome the difficulties encountered in multilateral initiatives taken to meet major world challenges such as climate changes. This approach will help to promote coherent liaison between the action undertaken at different levels.

      Even taking account of the progress which may be made in energy efficiency, the increase in demand is such that all possible energy sources must be explored. I would like to restate the importance which the Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on the Environment has always attached to the development of alternative sources of energy.

      These alternative sources are often presented as being "worthwhile" from the environmental point of view but generally have the disadvantage of higher production and operational costs due to their being exploited on an experimental basis. Consequently, there is an urgent need to come up with genuine development policies for these energy sources to make them economically viable. To do this, it is important to exploit them in locations where their cost price can be made competitive.

      In the debate on the use of different energy sources, the problem of nuclear power quite naturally occupies an important place. At the OECD, activities relating to nuclear power are the responsibility of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) which continues to carry out activities directed toward the on-going improvement of radioactive waste management, the safety of installations, and providing member states with several alternatives in the field of nuclear power.

      A distinction must be made here between two major aspects: first a moderately upward trend in nuclear power consumption in the industrialised countries, and second, the very serious problem of nuclear installations in the central and east European countries (CEEC).

      The first aspect (increased consumption in the OECD countries) reflects the energy choice made by countries which prefer nuclear installations which maintain high safety standards - and thus represent reduced risks - and which cause no harmful effects to the environment.

      Clearly, to pass judgement on this is to open up once more the traditional pro- and anti-nuclear debate. This is not the purpose of this contribution and I do not believe that this is the time or place to comment on the merits of these choices.

      On the other hand, I would like to focus on the very serious problem of nuclear power plants which are currently operating in central and eastern Europe. We must of course welcome OECD activities for increased co-operation with the CEEC and the new independent states (NIS) over safety measures and regulations and assistance with safety research. However, we must not lose sight of the seriousness of the situation and of the fact that a substantial number of power stations in these countries require urgent action, involving significant financial investment. Resolving this problem is a top priority, but it is not up to the OECD alone to find a solution. If we acknowledge that nuclear energy is a viable option in these countries, then we must make every effort to neutralise the serious potential danger which some of these installations represent. To do this, we must, as a matter of necessity and urgency, develop international co-operation and mobilise all existing resources.

III.       ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

      This sector continues to develop in line with the "OECD Environmental Strategy for the 1990s", based on three main principles:

-       integrating environmental and economic decision-making;

-       improving environmental performance (including reduction of the pollution burden);

-       expanding international co-operation, both among OECD members and through increased outreach to other nations - primarily the central and east European countries, the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and the dynamic economies in Asia and Latin America.

      Inter-committee and inter-directorate co-operation, particularly on issues at the interface between economic and environmental policy, is the responsibility of the Environment Policy Committee (EPOC), supported by the organisation's Environment Directorate.

      There has also been expansion in the other major trends of the OECD's environmental activities. There is a noticeable shift from the traditional focus of air, water and land pollution towards environmental policies in key economic sectors: the search for least-cost solutions in environmental policy, an emphasis on monitoring of compliance and evaluation of performance, strengthened partnerships with international and non-governmental institutions and involvement of non-member countries.

      Particular mention should be made of the OECD's contribution to the preparation of the 3rd pan-European Conference of Ministers of the Environment which will be held in Sofia in October 1995 and more particularly to the Environmental Action Programme for the central and east European countries and co-ordination of this programme with the Project Preparation Committee in order to be in a better position to study the most appropriate ways of funding these activities.

      It must not be overlooked that all countries in the process of transition like the developing countries have decided to take up the challenge of rapid economic growth. Clearly there is a danger that this will entail further harm to the environment, which is already seriously impaired.

      Accordingly there is a need to begin straight away to make production and investment choices which are respectful of the environment and which will help ensure sustainable development. However, this entails considerable costs which the countries in transition are unable to afford. For this reason it is essential that international co-operation, and the Sofia process is an example, should play a role in this regard by helping these countries find solutions to enable them to navigate safely through the transition process.

IV.       TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICE

      The Parliamentary Assembly warmly welcomed the OECD's decision to set up this service in 1994. It was formed in order to enable the OECD to address the huge field of territorial planning and development by looking at specific questions such as rural or regional development in a general context encompassing economic development, labour policy and environment.

      The service aims to formulate and encourage the necessary action to be taken at each level and in each specific field to attain the general shared goals.

      In the same spirit, the Assembly has always supported a global and integrated regional planning policy placing particular emphasis on the action to be carried out in this field in the central and east European countries. For this reason we cannot but welcome and encourage the co-operation which has been developed in this sector by the OECD as part of the activities carried out in conjunction with the Centre for Co-operation with the Economies in Transition (CCET).

Reporting committee: Committee on Economic Affairs and Development (Doc. 7348).

This contribution was approved by the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development on 25 September 1995.

Secretaries to the committee: Mrs Cagnolati-Staveris and Mr Sixto.