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A healthy environment is a pre-requisite for a strong and healthy economy. The OECD provides a forum for countries to share their experiences, to work together to resolve inherently international issues, and to develop concrete recommendations on policies that can address environmental problems in an effective and economically efficient manner.
There are more OECD Council Decisions and Recommendations dealing with the environment than in any other substantive area the OECD oversees. |
| U.S. Environmental Performance Review: Economic Growth and Environmental Progress |
In January 2006, OECD issued a comprehensive review of U.S. environmental performance. At a ceremony in Washington, Ambassador Morella, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Steven Johnson, and OECD Deputy-Secretary General Kiyo Akasaka unveiled the review.
The 280-page review presents an excellent synopsis of the state of the environment in the U.S. and concludes that over the past decade the U.S. has significantly improved its environmental performance even as its economy and population have grown substantially.
The OECD peer review makes a series of recommendations for the U.S. to consider in areas of environmental management, air, water, nature and biodiversity, sustainable development, and international environmental initiatives.
The U.S. helped launch this flagship OECD review program in the 1980’s and recently participated in the first-ever OECD environmental review of China.
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| Environment and Development: Progress on Sustainable Development |
OECD’s Environment and Development Committees recently renewed their commitment to integrating environmental considerations into national development assistance policies.
On April 4, 2006 30 Environment and Development Ministers met and issued a “Framework for Common Action Around Shared Goals.” By improving capacity for environment-development integration, by spreading best practices among member nations, and by implementing sound practices, the Ministerial will guide OECD’s efforts in this important area over the years to come.
The Ministers also issued a “Declaration of Integrating Climate Change Adaptation into Development Co-operation” recognizing that long-term environmental challenges such as climate change must be met with strategies fully integrated into development assistance planning.
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| Non-Member Countries and the Environment |
The Environment Policy Committee (EPOC), like all parts of OECD, maintains a large portfolio of activities with non-member OECD countries. EPA utilizes OECD’s outreach potential in several ways to further U.S. policies. For example, the Chemicals Program made the Council Decision on Mutual Acceptance of Data available to non-OECD members in 1998.
Since that time many of the major non-member countries have joined the Chemicals Program which promotes, among other things, exchange of experts (such as through GLP inspection visits) and greater familiarity with other aspects of the Program. The participation of EPA in OECD’s environmental reviews of Chile and China provide an excellent basis for expanding U.S. environmental policy objectives.
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| OECD Environmental Outlook: The Environment in 2030 |
The OECD is currently updating its influential “Environmental Outlook.” The new Outlook is being developed in conjunction with OECD economic experts and will combine economic and environmental modeling in unique ways.
The new Outlook will provide a substantive tool for OECD and its member nations to use to assess the implications of planned environmental policies and programs. The Outlook will be unveiled before the next meeting of OECD Environment Ministers in 2008. The U.S. is a major supporter and developer of this activity.
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