New international rules on state financing of rail exports will boost the development of cleaner transportation infrastructure and help countries meet green growth objectives, the OECD said.

The last decade has seen considerable policy attention to the social economy and its contribution to employment, in particular as regards the inclusion and empowerment of vulnerable workers and the provision of appropriate working conditions.

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.

Twenty years ago climate change was viewed as just an environmental issue. Today it is squarely an economic issue. Climate change poses significant risks to our economic systems that could result in very large damages. To mitigate these risks we need to radically transform our economies and societies to stop global warming.

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach their expiry date, we must focus our efforts on ensuring a brighter, more inclusive and sustainable future for all. We face a plethora of common issues: growing inequalities; changing consumption patterns and population dynamics; increasing natural resource scarcity; and ongoing illicit financial flows.

The Japan-OECD Policy Forum on Urban Development and Green Growth will address cities’ unique role in creating synergies between environmental and economic objectives to advance green growth. Asian cities in particular are at the centre of this challenge. This event is organised as a commemorative event for the 50th Anniversary of Japan's Accession to the OECD.

The Green Growth and Sustainable development Forum is an annual event, and the third Forum will take place on 13-14 November 2014. This blog highlights the importance of the Forum, and how, far from being "abstract", this year's Forum offers an invaluable opportunity to address the social implications of implementing green growth strategies.

This Forum examined the distributional consequences of implementing green growth strategies and their impact on employment, skills and income.

This will be “the mother of all years for summits on international development". International delegates will gather in Addis Ababa in July to discuss how poorer countries can fund their development. In September, attention will shift to New York, where the UN will sign off on the successors to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In December, Paris will take centre stage to host the global climate change conference, COP21.

Embracing green growth can secure strong, stable and sustainable development. An increasing number of developing countries have formulated and/or implemented innovative policies to pursue green growth, notably in Africa. Zambia, in particular, is committed to drawing up an Inclusive Green Growth Strategy (IGGS) that builds upon a nationally-defined and comprehensive definition of green growth.

According to shocking new research by Oxfam, the world’s richest 1% would, on current trends, own more than half the world’s wealth by 2016.

In the coming months, the international community will gather three times and on three different continents, to build a sustainable development agenda for generations to come.

On 28 May 2015, the Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) webinar will examine how proper planning can help lay the foundation for both a stable climate and good development path; explore how countries can create the right enabling environment so that the needed technology, infrastructure and financing are available; and discuss how countries can carefully manage the transition, given vital political economy considerations.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría today called on all countries to fully engage with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and said advanced and emerging economies had a particular responsibility to translate the global goals into national policy and to support developing countries in doing the same.

Economic and social reforms over the past two decades have enabled Peru to significantly improve growth and well-being while raising incomes and reducing poverty.

So, for those interested in considering how to foster a green industrial revolution, it will be worthwhile to plan a trip to the OECD Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum* in Paris this December.

Achieving green growth requires ambitious transition management policies in key sectors such as energy, transport, water and agriculture. Provided that the pace of innovation in a number of these key areas is growing faster than ever before, the Forum examined how to foster the "next industrial revolution" by harnessing the potential of systems innovation policies to support green growth.

As part of the Better Life Index, Sustainable Development forms a multi-faceted key role in the way the OECD carries out its policy analysis. This latest blog from the OECD's Chief Statistician outlines how this is done.

The OECD defines policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) as an approach and policy tool to integrate the economic, social, environmental, and governance dimensions of sustainable development at all stages of domestic and international policy making. This blog details the OECD's PCSD framework and its goals.

The Sustainable Development Goals which world leaders agreed on in 2015 are focussed on people, peace and planet. Achieving goals requires a transformational, integrated, and universal agenda that is based on effective policies, sufficient pecunia and true partnerships. Latest OECD Insights blog post by Erik Solheim, Chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee.

Despite great strides in reducing the number of people in abject poverty, Asia and the Pacific remains home to more than half of the world’s extreme poor. With the global and regional economic outlook uncertain, the key challenge facing Asia is to sustain the growth needed to create jobs and reduce poverty. Read the latest blog by Mr. Stephen P. Groff, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank.

Read the latest OECD Insights blog written by Mrs. Gabriela Ramos, Special Counsellor to the OECD Secretary-General, Chief of Staff and G20 Sherpa.

Read the latest blog by Patrick Paul Walsh, Professor of International Development Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland and Senior Advisor, UN SDSN, Earth Institute, on the Implications of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for the OECD.

On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the United Nation’s General Assembly adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This comprehensive set of goals aims to “end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all” as part of a new development agenda.

At one time, I might have said that sustainable development is in the OECD’s blood, but biological metaphors have made enormous progress over the past few years and now I’d say it’s in the Organisation’s DNA... Blog by Ron Gass, founding Director of the OECD Directorate of Social Affairs, Manpower and Education and the OECD Centre for Educational Research and Education (CERI).

With the Sustainable Development Goals, the world has set itself ambitious targets for the next 15 years. But ambition will also be essential if we are to collect and process the data needed for monitoring the goals. Thanks to more than half a century of experience, the OECD is well-placed to support this global project.

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.

The OECD has welcomed the release by China and the US of peer reviews of their fossil fuel subsidies.

OECD countries must step up their efforts to improve the quality and equity of their education systems as part of their commitments to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education by 2030, according to a new OECD report.

Current carbon prices are falling short of the levels needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but even moderate price increases could have a significant impact, according to new OECD research.

Read the newest OECD's Insights blog based on the latest report from the New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC) "Debate the Issues: New Approaches to Economic Challenges".

This report uses household level data covering 20 OECD countries to analyse energy affordability at current energy prices and explores how these indicators change in response to a simulated energy tax reform. The report finds that higher energy prices, needed to cut harmful carbon emissions and air pollution, can also help achieve social policy objectives.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Israel decreased by 1.4 percentage points from 32.5% in 2017 to 31.1% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

Spurred by a rise in 2019 development aid, the OECD and its donor member countries are working to help the most vulnerable countries during the coronavirus crisis. Official development assistance (ODA) provided by OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members rose by 1.4% in real terms to USD 152.8 billion in 2019.

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Ireland decreased by 0.2 percentage points from 22.5% in 2017 to 22.3% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

There has been an explosion in the usage of mobile phones and smartphones to access travel related websites and portals in India. More and more users are turning to their mobile phones to book tickets for local, national and...

The capital city of Karnataka is prepping to host the biggest entertainment event at KTPO Convention Centre in Whitefield on 12-13 November 2016.

Twenty years ago climate change was viewed as just an environmental issue. Today it is squarely an economic issue. Climate change poses significant risks to our economic systems that could result in very large damages. To mitigate these risks we need to radically transform our economies and societies to stop global warming.

Selected findings for Germany from the report "Preventing Ageing Unequally"

A broken social elevator? Key findings for Germany

The tax-to-GDP ratio in Germany increased by 0.6 percentage points from 37.6% in 2017 to 38.2% in 2018. The corresponding figure for the OECD average was a slight increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.

The aims of the workshop are to outline the key findings and recommendations of the two reports and to look at how we can develop stronger partnerships across Sydney to reduce carbon emissions and increase economic and employment opportunities.

The Institute for Competitiveness India, the National Skill Development Corporation India and the OECD LEED Programme in collaboration with the ILO are joining forces to discuss local skills strategies for job-rich and inclusive growth in India.

The Negev region has the potential to deliver real and tangible benefits for regional development, green growth and social inclusion. The report explains how the region can exploit its existing strenghts and competitive advantages, including a niche in research, demonstration and testing in renewable energies and water efficiency.

Skills and educational development for inclusive and sustainable growth are becoming significant drivers in OECD countries.

This project aims to support the Slovak Republic as it seeks to create a clear rationale for the Regional Development Agencies Integrated Network which currently comprises 38 agencies.

The conference discussed the results of the project as well as policy recommendations on training and skills development for the creation of an innovative and competitive SME sector in OECD countries.

This paper looks at a study carried out among 80 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in two Canadian cities, Montréal and Winnipeg, based on a survey and case studies, which show the importance of innovation among Canadian SMEs. These innovations in turn create new demands for skill development, both through formal training and in informal activities.

The OECD LEED Delivering Local Development work stream examines the local and regional framework conditions and instruments for intervention to achieve successful local economic development in participating countries and localities. It covers strategic themes encompassing finance and investment, building the knowledge base, delivery vehicles and economic strategies (including the local development impacts from global events).