Environment Focus
An environmental lens on policies for better lives
Category: Climate change
Rediscover our top 5 blogs of 2021
1. The price of plastic waste and solutions to turn the tide By Stefanos Fotiou, ESCAP, and Anthony Cox, OECD Environment Directorate This blog examines solutions to deal with the eight million tonnes of plastic that will end up in the world’s oceans every year,… Continue Reading “Rediscover our top 5 blogs of 2021”
Managing climate risks in mountainous areas
By Mikaela Rambali, OECD Environment Directorate, and Takayoshi Kato, OECD Development Co-operation Directorate Mountain communities and ecosystems are highly exposed to climate hazards due to rugged terrains, steep slopes and stark seasonal contrasts. Looking at the impacts of a changing climate in mountainous areas… Continue Reading “Managing climate risks in mountainous areas”
COP26: Big steps forward on adaptation and resilience
By Michael Mullan, OECD Environment Directorate While I was at COP26 in Glasgow, one of the speakers said that hope was not the same as optimism; rather it was about being able to see the possibility of a better future. In that sense, I… Continue Reading “COP26: Big steps forward on adaptation and resilience”
Deliberative democracy: A bottom up approach to helping solve the climate crisis
By Deborah Holmes Michel, OECD Environment Directorate Our planet’s ecological systems are increasingly under pressure, millions suffer from the negative effects of air pollution, and very few countries are on track to meet their Paris Agreement objectives. Leaders need to imagine different ways of… Continue Reading “Deliberative democracy: A bottom up approach to helping solve the climate crisis”
Building it “right” in African cities — not back better
By Brilé Anderson, OECD Sahel and West Africa Club The African continent is urbanising quickly — in other words, more and more people are living in cities. In the second half of the twentieth century, the population in African cities grew eightfold, from 27… Continue Reading “Building it “right” in African cities — not back better”
Building resilience to natural disaster risk in agriculture
By Francesca Casalini and Jesús Antón, OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate As one of the economic sectors most inherently exposed to natural hazards, risk management has always been a key issue for agriculture. During the last few decades, however, the frequency and intensity of… Continue Reading “Building resilience to natural disaster risk in agriculture”
Deep reductions in CO₂ are not enough
By Rodolfo Lacy, OECD Environment Director From the melting of the poles to the weakening of the ocean currents that carry warm water from the tropics into the North Atlantic, every day the planet sends stronger signals of a climate crisis. On 9 August,… Continue Reading “Deep reductions in CO₂ are not enough”
Seeing the value in climate science
By Dr. Heather Plumpton, Walker Institute at the University of Reading, UK The recent OECD workshop on approaches to reduce and manage the risks of losses and damages from climate change was fascinating. Not only due to the interesting and novel insights from the… Continue Reading “Seeing the value in climate science”
The green recovery: an opportunity to address inequalities?
By Enrico Botta, OECD Environment Directorate Over the past decade, inequalities in income and opportunities have increased. The income of the top 10% is over ten times larger than the bottom 10% while traditional opportunities for social mobility have withered. While official income inequality… Continue Reading “The green recovery: an opportunity to address inequalities?”
Changing climate, changing coasts: Why resilience matters
By Marta Arbinolo and Catherine Gamper, OECD Environment Directorate Coastal zones have always been one of the most attractive settlement areas because of their access to the ocean, their richness in natural resources, and the high quality of life they offer. As our new… Continue Reading “Changing climate, changing coasts: Why resilience matters”
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