This paper presents the results of an ex post evaluation of the impacts of a vehicle tax reform in Ireland, by carrying out a full social cost benefit analysis of a vehicle tax reform and shows that whilst successful in improving the fuel economy of new passenger cars, it may have caused unintended effects (increased proliferation of diesel vehicles in the passenger car fleet).

Type “Christmas and environment” into Google and you will get page after page of tips on how to have a sustainable festive and holiday season. Topics from the Christmas tree to sustainable gift-giving to eco-friendly Christmas food to holiday cards to gift wrapping, there is no shortage of news articles, websites and blogs providing useful advice on how to reduce the environmental footprint of the holiday period.

This report investigates in what ways Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) could incorporate environmental objectives in chapters and articles related to subsidies for energy and environmental goods. It highlights the current state of play in incorporating provisions related to environmentally related subsidies in RTAs.

This report aims to help environmental and other competent authorities in OECD countries to promote green business practices among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It analyses different ways to establish environmental regulatory requirements for facilities with low environmental risk (most of which are SMEs).

Two new OECD reports provide wide-ranging evidence of how reforming subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels can help countries boost finances and meet green objectives.

Over the past 20 years, the global development landscape has changed dramatically. At the same time, we face unprecedented global challenges and growing instability, with looming financial and economic crises, and growing unemployment, food insecurity, political instability and environmental threats.

Governments around the world are encouraging people to factor the environment into their everyday lives and purchases. Is it leading to more sustainable consumption? Are households ‘going green’?

Risk finance is essential for new ventures to commercialise new ideas and grow, especially in emerging sectors. Yet very little is known about the drivers and characteristics of risk finance in the green sector. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a detailed description of risk finance in the green sector across 29 countries and identifying the role that policies might have in shaping high-growth investments.

As environmental pressures continue to rise, governments throughout the OECD area have not been sitting back. If anything, the stringency of their policy measures has been increasing on the whole, not least to combat pollution and climate change. And as the evidence shows, stringent environmental policies can be introduced without hurting overall productivity.

The OECD’s latest Environmental Performance Review of Spain finds the country has decreased the energy and carbon intensity of its economy, reduced industrial pollution and cut per-capita waste generation since 2000.

This report develops an analytical framework that assesses the macroeconomic, environmental and distributional consequences of energy subsidy reforms. The framework is applied to the case of Indonesia to study the consequences in this country of a gradual phase out of all energy consumption subsidies between 2012 and 2020.

Consumers only occasionally choose to buy sustainable products. At the same time these consumers say in surveys that sustainability is important to them, and that the government should promote sustainable consumption. This study takes a closer look at public support for sustainable consumption and the associated dilemmas, with the help of a behavioural economics experiment of group decisions.

For many years one of the predominant conventional wisdoms in both business and policymaking circles was that cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions necessitates a sacrifice in economic growth.

Governments are under-utilising taxation as a tool to curb the environmental consequences of energy use, foregoing revenue and weakening their attack on the principal source of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change and air pollution, according to new OECD analysis.

The OECD and the Ministry of Finance of Indonesia (Fiscal Policy Agency) held an expert seminar on 4-5 November, 2015 in Bogor, Indonesia. The event brought together representatives from the ASEAN line ministries, research organisations and other key international organisations to share their knowledge and expertise on the topic. This event was supported by the OECD Knowledge Sharing Alliance.

Peru is a multicultural, megadiverse country, with abundant ecosystem and natural resources, and an ancient tradition in the sustainable management of its resources. Growing pressures from extractive industries, unplanned urbanisation and deforestation are threatening its natural heritage and the population's well-being.

France has improved its environmental performance over the last decade, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reducing some air pollutants and cutting its use of fresh water. Further effort will be needed, however, to reduce pollution by nitrates and pesticides and meet ambitious renewable energy targets, according to a new OECD report.

Read what OECD bloggers have to say about topics as varied as air pollution, biodiversity, climate, environmental policies, green growth, investment, waste and water. Join the discussion on our latest blog: Climate - Towards a just transition, with no stranded workers and no stranded communities.

This country note provides an environmental tax and carbon pricing profile for Germany. It shows environmentally related tax revenues, taxes on energy use and effective carbon rates.

Launch of the review process of Regulatory Inspections and Enforcement in the OEFA.

Launch of the review process of Regulatory Inspections and Enforcement in the OEFA.

What do innovative learning environments around the world look like? How might they be led and evaluated? What policy strategies stimulate and support them? For the past decade the OECD’s Centre for Education Research and Innovation (CERI) has addressed these and similar questions in an international study called Innovative Learning Environments.

This study provides an empirical analysis of the effects of environmental zoning on urban development. It focuses on the case of Natural Regional Parks (NRPs) in France. Of the environmental zoning instruments used in France, NRPs extend over the widest physical area. Three potential side-effects of NRPs on urban development in the regulated area are investigated.

The conference will cover developments and the state-of-the art of environmental microbiology, as it is applied for biotechnological purposes, and the role of genetic engineering of micro-organisms intended for use in the environment, now and in the near future.

The aquatic life benchmarks (for freshwater species) are based on toxicity values reviewed by EPA and used in the Agency's most recent risk assessments developed as part of the decision-making process for pesticide registration. Each Aquatic Life Benchmark is based on the most sensitive, scientifically acceptable toxicity endpoint available for a given taxon of all scientifically acceptable toxicity data available to EPA.

The OECD Environmental Risk Assessment Toolkit describes the work flow for environmental risk assessment and management of chemicals with links to available OECD material relevant for the different steps in risk assessment and management. This new version of the Toolkit is more interactive and has added functionalities. It will be populated with additional tools and case studies in the future.

This document provides guidance for performing an exposure assessment based on environmental monitoring data.It covers topics such as environmental levels and distribution of contaminants, ways of using monitoring data in exposure assessments for differing purposes, the collection of data, quality of monitoring activities, as well as several examples of data compilation in member countries and their use in exposure assessment.

This Biosafety document aims to serve as an aid to risk assessors and regulators; providing guidance on handling the aspects of an environmental safety assessment, accessing and using information in situations of low-level presence (LLP) of transgenic plants in seed and grain commodities.

This document includes the conclusions and recommendations resulting from a workshop that addressed the ecotoxicology and environmental fate of manufactured nanomaterials, and in particular the applicability of existing OECD Test Guidelines (TG) related to these topics. A number of TG developments are underway at OECD as a follow-up to these recommendations.

Micro-organisms play a fundamental role in the environment. Yet their role is the result of complex biogeochemical processes by consortia of micro-organisms and the function of individual species is not clear in many cases. This publication provides an overview of the current situation and relevant developments in environmental microbiology.

France has improved its environmental performance over the last decade, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, reducing some air pollutants and cutting its use of fresh water. Further effort will be needed, however, to reduce pollution by nitrates and pesticides and meet ambitious renewable energy targets, according to a new OECD report.

The OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals is a collection of about 150 of the most relevant internationally agreed testing methods used by government, industry and independent laboratories to identify and characterise potential hazards of chemicals. Every year new and updated Test Guidelines are adopted to meet the regulatory needs in OECD member countries. The most recent Test Guidelines were adopted in July 2016.

Join us for our per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances webinar on Best Environmental Practices (BEP) for Textiles

This paper reviews and compares five case studies on quantification and economic valuation of benefits in cost-benefit analyses (CBAs) of regulating phthalates, mercury, PFOA (perfluoro-octanic acid) and its salts, NMP (1 methyl-2-pyrroloidine) and formaldehyde. The case studies had all been carried out as part of the SACAME project, and the purpose of the present paper is to draw out cross-cutting findings from these studies.

Policy instruments can be applied to improve the sustainability of plastics, including regulations, market-based instruments, information and voluntary tools. The report reviews the use of these instruments, provides good practice examples, such as product taxes and charges, eco-design standards, extended producer responsibility and environmental product labels, as well as discussing opportunities for their future applications.

Yogi Dewan of Hassium Asset Management on where to invest

1. Hon'ble Shri Justice M. Chockalingam, Judicial Member

2. Hon'ble Prof. Dr. R. Nagendran, Expert Member

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Date: 15th October, 2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Hon'ble Shri Justice M. Chockalingam, Judicial Member) These appeals have been filled by appellant herein challenging the order of the 2nd respondent, namely, the Appellant Authority, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control (Appellant Authority) made in Appeal Nos. 37 and 38 of 2013 dated 28.02.2014 whereby the appeals have been dismissed.

1. Hon'ble Shri Justice M. Chockalingam, Judicial Member

2. Hon'ble Prof. Dr. R. Nagendran, Expert Member

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Date: 15th October, 2014

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Hon'ble Shri Justice M. Chockalingam, Judicial Member) These appeals have been filled by appellant herein challenging the order of the 2nd respondent, namely, the Appellant Authority, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control (Appellant Authority) made in Appeal Nos. 37 and 38 of 2013 dated 28.02.2014 whereby the appeals have been dismissed.

TALK OF THE TOWN: The Don't Start Now singer says she has come 'completely off' Twitter to take one route of attack away from the keyboard warriors.

Loha Garam Hai is a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred comment on lop-sided strategies of development. It is focused more on information and education than on the aesthetics of cinema, writes Shoma Chatterji.

Archives, Room Use Only - QC611.H46 1831

Draft has alarming clauses including the concept of post facto clearance, it says.

A portable IR fiber laser-heating system, optimized for X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and nuclear inelastic scattering (NIS) spectroscopy with signal collection through the radial opening of diamond anvil cells near 90°with respect to the incident X-ray beam, is presented. The system offers double-sided on-axis heating by a single laser source and zero attenuation of incoming X-rays other than by the high-pressure environment. A description of the system, which has been tested for pressures above 100 GPa and temperatures up to 3000 K, is given. The XES spectra of laser-heated Mg0.67Fe0.33O demonstrate the potential to map the iron spin state in the pressure–temperature range of the Earth's lower mantle, and the NIS spectra of laser-heated FeSi give access to the sound velocity of this candidate of a phase inside the Earth's core. This portable system represents one of the few bridges across the gap between laser heating and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopies with signal collection near 90°.

Possibilities in auxiliary technique combinations with small- and wide-angle X ray scattering are described, as well as more complicated sample environments used in X-ray and neutron scattering.

In the complex cation of title compound, [Fe(C56H52N4)(C5H8N2)2]ClO4·1.5C6H5Cl, the ironIII atom is coordinated in a distorted octa­hedral manner by four pyrrole N atoms of the porphyrin ring system in the equatorial plane, and by two N atoms of the 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands in the axial sites. A disordered perchlorate anion and one and a half chloro­benzene solvent mol­ecules are also present. The cationic complex exhibits a highly ruffled porphyrin core. The average Fe—Np (Np is a porphyrin N atom) bond length is 1.988 (5), and the axial Fe—NIm (NIm is an imidazole N atom) bond lengths are 1.962 (3) and 1.976 (3) Å. The two 1-ethyl­imidazole ligands are inclined to each other by a dihedral angle of 68.62 (16)°. The dihedral angles between the 1-ethyl­imidazole planes and the planes of the closest Fe—Np vector are 28.52 (18) and 43.57 (13)°. Inter­molecular C—H⋯Cl inter­actions are observed.

The title compound, [Fe2(C44H28N4O)2O], was obtained as a by-product during the synthesis of FeIII tetra­phenyl­porphyrin perchlorate. It crystallizes as a new polymorphic modification in addition to the ortho­rhom­bic form previously reported [Hoffman et al. (1972). J. Am. Chem. Soc. 94, 3620–3626; Swepston & Ibers (1985) Acta Cryst. C41, 671–673; Kooijmann et al. (2007). Private Communication (refcode 667666). CCDC, Cambridge, England]. In its crystal structure, the two crystallographically independent FeIII cations are coordinated in a square-planar environment by the four N atoms of a tetra­phenyl­porphyrin ligand. The FeIII-tetra­phenyl­porphyrine units are linked by a μ2-oxido ligand into a dimer with an Fe—O—Fe angle close to linearity. The final coordination sphere for each FeIII atom is square-pyramidal with the μ2-oxido ligand in the apical position. The crystal under investigation consisted of two domains in a ratio of 0.691 (3): 0.309 (3).

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Fe(NCS)2(C12H9NO)4], consists of an FeII ion that is located on a centre of inversion, as well as two 4-benzoyl­pyridine ligands and one thio­cyanate anion in general positions. The FeII ions are coordinated by two N-terminal-bonded thio­cyanate anions and four 4-benzoyl­pyridine ligands into discrete complexes with a slightly distorted octa­hedral geometry. These complexes are further linked by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds into chains running along the c-axis direction. Upon heating, this complex loses half of the 4-benzoyl­pyridine ligands and transforms into a compound with the composition Fe(NCS)2(4-benzoyl­pyridine)2, that might be isotypic to the corresponding MnII compound and for which the structure is unknown.

In the title metal–organic framework, [Fe(C6H8N2)2{Cu(CN)2}2]n, the low-spin FeII ion lies at an inversion centre and displays an elongated octa­hedral [FeN6] coordination environment. The axial positions are occupied by two symmetry-related bridging 2-ethyl­pyrazine ligands, while the equatorial positions are occupied by four N atoms of two pairs of symmetry-related cyanide groups. The CuI centre is coordinated by three cyanide carbon atoms and one N atom of a bridging 2-ethyl­pyrazine mol­ecule, which form a tetra­hedral coordination environment. Two neighbouring Cu atoms have a short Cu⋯Cu contact [2.4662 (7) Å] and their coordination tetra­hedra are connected through a common edge between two C atoms of cyanide groups. Each Cu2(CN)2 unit, formed by two neighbouring Cu atoms bridged by two carbons from a pair of μ-CN groups, is connected to six FeII centres via two bridging 2-ethyl­pyrazine mol­ecules and four cyanide groups, resulting in the formation of a polymeric three-dimensional metal–organic coordination framework.

In the title polymeric complex, {[Fe(CN)2(C10H8N2)2(H2O)2][Au(CN)2]}n, the FeII ion, which is located on a twofold rotation axis, has a slightly distorted FeN4O2 octa­hedral geometry. It is coordinated by two phenyl­pyrazine mol­ecules, two water mol­ecules and two di­cyano­aurate anions, the Au atom also being located on a second twofold rotation axis. In the crystal, the coordinated di­cyano­aurate anions bridge the FeII ions to form polymeric chains propagating along the b-axis direction. In the crystal, the chains are linked by Owater—H⋯Ndi­cyano­aurate anions hydrogen bonds and aurophillic inter­actions [Au⋯Au = 3.5661 (3) Å], forming layers parallel to the bc plane. The layers are linked by offset π–π stacking inter­actions [inter­centroid distance = 3.643 (3) Å], forming a supra­molecular metal–organic framework.