Environment at a Glance Indicators

Reader’s guide

The indicators

The Environment at a Glance: Country Profiles feature selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, including a few indicators on countries’ socio-economic context to facilitate interpretation. They show the progress that countries have made in addressing environmental issues, including climate change, air quality, waste and the circular economy, water management, and biodiversity conservation.

The indicators presented are those that are regularly used in OECD policy work and for which data are available for a majority of OECD countries. They are used in country environmental performance reviews (EPRs) and in economic surveys, and support the monitoring of progress towards Green Growth and Sustainable Development.

Indicator list

 

Theme	Indicator group	Indicator
Context	Context	GDP per capita Population density
Climate change	GHG emissions	Decoupling trends CO2 emission intensities GHG emissions by source
	Energy supply	Energy supply mix Share of renewables
Air quality	Air emissions	Air emission trends NOx emissions by source Air emissions intensities
	Air pollution	Population exposure to fine particulates (PM2.5)
Water resources	Use of freshwater resources	Water stress Abstraction intensity for public supply
	Wastewater treatment	Connection rates to public wastewater treatment plants
Waste, materials and circular economy	Municipal waste	Municipal waste generation intensity Municipal waste treatment modes
	Material consumption	Material intensity Material productivity Materials mix
Biodiversity	Land use	Land use types
	Species	Threatened species
	Protected areas	Terrestrial protected areas Marine protected areas
Policy instruments	Environmentally-related taxation	Environmentally-related tax revenue (percentage of GDP) Environmentally-related tax revenue by tax base
	Government support to fossil fuels and effective carbon rates	Fossil fuel support by type of fuel Effective carbon rates
	Technology and innovation	Environmentally-related government R&D budget Renewable energy public RD&D budget Environment-related technology development (patents) Environment-related technology (patents)
	Environment-related official development assistance (ODA)	Net ODA provided ODA targeting environmental objectives (Rio Markers)

Data presented in the country profiles build on various OECD and other international sources published in OECD Data Explorer. Update timelines vary from one dataset to another. Differences with national data sources may occur due to delays in data treatment and their publication on OECD Data Explorer. For some countries (e.g. those benefitting from recent EPRs), more indicators are shown (e.g. selected policy instruments).

Interpretation of the indicators

No single approach has been used for normalising the indicators; different denominators are used in parallel to balance the message conveyed. When interpreting the indicators, it should be borne in mind that they acquire their full meaning when placed in the appropriate country context and when considered as a suite of indicators rather than a list of individual indicators.

It should also be borne in mind that:

• National averages can mask significant variations within countries.

• There is a level of uncertainty associated with the data sources and measurement methods on which the indicators rely. Differences between two indicator values are thus not always statistically significant.

Country aggregates

Indicators are presented by country compared to OECD averages when possible. The following country aggregates are used:

• OECD America: Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States.

• OECD Europe: all European member countries of the OECD, i.e. Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

• OECD Asia-Oceania: Australia, Israel, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

• OECD: all member countries of the OECD, i.e. countries of OECD America plus countries of OECD Asia-Oceania and countries of OECD Europe.

Differences with national indicators and data

Differences with national indicators and data sources may occur for various reasons:

• Differences in timeliness can be due to time lags between the production of national data and their transmission to the OECD or another IGO, and the delay caused by the subsequent treatment and validation process before publication (here OECD Data Explorer).

• Other differences may occur due to the use of national indicator definitions or measurement methods that differ from international definitions and methods, or to the existence of different national data providers that report to different international organisations.

Interactive graphics

The graphics presented in the country profiles are directly linked to OECD Data Explorer and are updated at the same time as the underlying dataset. The text accompanying the graphics is updated once a year, and may thus not reflect the latest updates.

Legends are interactive and clicking on them enables users to include/exclude a time series from the graphic. Definitions can be accessed by clicking on the i (top left corner of the graphics); data or images can be downloaded from the top right button of the graphic.

Glossary

Context

Gross Domestic Product: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures market and government production and the associated economic activity. However, as a “gross” measure, no account is taken of the depreciation neither of produced assets nor of the depletion of natural assets. Real GDP is expressed at constant 2015 USD PPP prices. The main source for the GDP series is the Gross domestic product dataset of Aggregate National Accounts of the OECD National Accounts Statistics Database. Data for the Slovak Republic (prior to 1992) are estimated using the GDP growth rates from the latest OECD Economic Outlook.

Population: Population is the de facto population in a country, area or region as of 1 July of the year indicated. The main source of population data is the World Population Prospects database from the United Nations.

Population density: Expressed as the number of inhabitants per square kilometre of total country area (persons/km²). Population is defined here as all nationals present in or temporarily absent from a country, and foreign nationals permanently settled in the country.

Climate change

Real Gross Domestic Product: See definition of GDP in the Context section.

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from energy use (production-based CO₂ emissions): Refers to gross direct CO₂ emissions from fossil fuel combustion, emitted within the national territory. Human-caused emissions from other sources are not included. Included are CO₂ emissions from combustion of coal, oil, natural gas and other fuels. Emissions from oil held in international marine and aviation bunkers are excluded. CO₂ removal by sinks, indirect emissions from land use changes and indirect effects through interactions in the atmosphere are not taken into account.

The estimates of CO₂ emissions are obtained from the IEA’s database of CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. Default methods and emission factors are given in the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.

Carbon footprint (demand-based CO₂ emissions): Refer to the CO₂ from energy use emitted during the various stages of production (in the country or abroad) of goods and services consumed in domestic final demand. OECD Indicators on Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions embodied in international trade (TECO2) are derived by combining the OECD Inter-Country Input-Output (ICIO) Database and the International Energy Agency (IEA) statistics on CO₂ emissions from fuel combustion. Emissions from fuels used for international aviation and maritime transport (i.e. aviation and marine bunkers) are also considered. For more information, see the web page: http://oe.cd/io-co2.

Greenhouse gas emissions: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions refer to the sum of GHGs that have direct effects on climate change and are considered responsible for a major part of global warming: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).

Greenhouse gas emission estimates are divided into main sectors, which are groupings of related processes, sources and sinks:

1. Energy (energy industries, manufacturing industries, transport and other energy uses)

2. Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU)

3. Agriculture

4. Land use change and forestry

5. Waste

6. Other (e.g., indirect emissions from nitrogen deposition from non-agriculture sources).

They refer to GHGs emitted within the national territory and exclude international transactions of emission reduction units or certified emission reductions.

The main sources of data are National Inventory Submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, CRF tables), and replies to the OECD State of the Environment Questionnaire.

Total energy supply: Total energy supply (TES) is expressed in thousand tonnes of oil equivalent and as an index with values in 2000 normalised to equal 100. TES comprises production + imports - exports - international marine bunkers - international aviation bunkers ± stock changes. Data on Total Energy Supply are obtained from the World Energy Statistics Dataset in the IEA World Energy Statistics and Balances Database.

Renewable energy supply as percentage of TES: Renewable energy supply is calculated as a share of renewable sources in TES (expressed as percentage). Renewables include hydro, geothermal, solar (thermal and PV), wind and tide/wave/ocean energy, as well as combustible renewables (solid biomass, liquid biomass, biogas) and waste (renewable municipal waste).

Renewable electricity as percentage of total electricity generation: Renewable electricity is calculated as a share of renewables in electricity production (expressed as percentage). Renewables include hydro, geothermal, solar (thermal and PV), wind and tide/wave/ocean energy, as well as combustible renewables (solid biomass, liquid biomass, biogas) and waste (renewable municipal waste).

Air quality

Fine particulates (PM_2.5) emissions National man-made emissions only. Emissions from international transport (aviation, marine) are excluded. Fine particulates (PM_2.5) refer to suspended particulates smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter that are capable of penetrating very deep into the respiratory tract and causing severe health effects. Fine particulates are potentially more toxic than small particulates (PM₁₀) and may include heavy metals and toxic organic substances. Data are expressed as an index with values in 2000 normalised to equal 100.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions: National man-made emissions only, expressed as NO₂. Emissions from international transport (aviation, marine) are excluded. Data are expressed as an index with values in 2000 normalised to equal 100.

Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) emissions: National man -made emissions only. Data refer to volatile organic compounds (VOC) other than methane (CH₄). Data are expressed as an index with values in 2000 normalised to equal 100.

Sulphur oxides: (SOx) emissions: National man -made emissions only, expressed as SO₂. Emissions from international transport (aviation, marine) are excluded. Data are expressed as an index with values in 2000 normalised to equal 100.

Air pollutant emissions data come from three sources:

• The Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP Convention), UNECE-EMEP emissions Database.

• National Inventory Submissions 2021 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, CRF tables).

• Replies to the OECD Questionnaire on the State of the Environment.

Population exposure to fine particulates (PM_2.5) emissions: Expressed as the mass of PM_2.5 per cubic meter (m³). Calculated as the mean annual outdoor PM_2.5 concentration weighted by population living in the relevant area, that is, the concentration level, expressed in μg/m³, to which a typical resident is exposed throughout a year. See detailed methodology at: https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlsqs8g1t9r-en.

The guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for PM_2.5 is that annual mean concentrations should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter (µ/m³), representing the lower range over which adverse health effects have been observed. The WHO has also recommended guideline values for emissions of PM_2.5 from burning fuels in households.

The population exposure estimates presented here reflect pollution from combustion sources as well as airborne mineral dust, or desert dust. The underlying estimates of PM_2.5 concentrations, are based on a global calibration function. This means that there is the potential to overestimate or underestimate concentrations in some locations. For some applications, population exposure estimates based directly on ground-based measurements may be more suitable than this hybrid approach (e.g. number of exceedances, daily or seasonal maxima, acute as opposed to chronic exposure), however, the true level of population exposure is unknown and mean annual estimates based primarily on data from ground-based measurements are not necessarily more accurate than those produced from the approach presented here. This is particularly relevant where national or regional estimates are based on a relatively low-density network of ground-based monitoring stations, stations that produce relatively few valid measurements, or where stations are not optimally located

Freshwater resources

Abstraction intensity for public supply: Public water supply refers to water supplied by economic units engaged in collection, purification and distribution of water (including desalting of sea water to produce water as the principal product of interest, and excluding treatment of wastewater solely in order to prevent pollution). It corresponds to division 36 (NACE/ISIC) independently of the sector involved, but excluding systems operation for agricultural irrigation such as irrigation canals. Deliveries of water from one public supply undertaking to another are excluded.

Connection rates to public wastewater treatment plants: The percentage of the national population connected to a wastewater treatment plant. “Connected” means actually connected to a wastewater treatment plant through a public sewage network. It does not take into account independent private facilities (e.g. septic tanks), used where public systems are not economic.

• Primary treatment: physical and/or chemical process involving settlement of suspended solids, or other process in which the BOD5 of the incoming wastewater is reduced by at least 20% before discharge and the total suspended solids are reduced by at least 50%.

• Secondary treatment: process generally involving biological treatment with a secondary settlement or other process, with a BOD removal of at least 70% and a COD removal of at least 75%.

Tertiary treatment: (additional to secondary treatment) of nitrogen and/or phosphorous and/or any other pollutant affecting the quality or a specific use of water (microbiological pollution, colour, etc.). The different possible treatment efficiencies cannot be added and are exclusive.

Freshwater resources: the data refer to long-term annual averages over a minimum period of 30 consecutive years.

Gross water abstraction: Water removed from any source, either permanently or temporarily. Mine water and drainage water are included. Water abstractions from groundwater resources in any given time period are defined as the difference between the total amount of water withdrawn from aquifers and the total amount charged artificially or injected into aquifers. Water abstractions from precipitation (e.g. rain water collected for use) should be included under abstractions from surface water. The amounts of water artificially charged or injected are attributed to abstractions from that water resource from which they were originally withdrawn. Water used for hydroelectricity generation is an in-situ use and should be excluded.

Intensity of use of freshwater resources (or water stress): Is expressed as gross freshwater abstraction in percentage of total available renewable freshwater resources (including inflows from neighbouring countries) or in percentage of internal freshwater resources (i.e. precipitation - evapotranspiration). Water used for hydroelectricity generation (which is considered an in situ use) is excluded. The following stress levels can be distinguished:

• Low (less than 10%): generally there is no major stress on the available resources.

• Moderate (10% to 20%): indicates that water availability issues are becoming a constraint on development and significant investments are needed to provide adequate supplies.

• Medium-high (20% to 40%): implies the management of both supply and demand, and conflicts among competing uses need to be resolved.

• High (more than 40%): indicates serious scarcity, and usually shows unsustainable water use, which can become a limiting factor in social and economic development.

Waste and materials management

Composting: Biological process that submits biodegradable waste to anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, and that results in a product that is recovered.

Domestic material consumption: Refers to the amount of materials directly used in an economy, or the apparent consumption of materials. Domestic material consumption (DMC) is computed as domestic extraction used minus exports plus imports.

DMC mix: DMC of non-metallic minerals includes domestic extraction and trade of minerals used in industry and construction, plus trade of derived processed products; biomass includes domestic production from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, plus trade of raw and processed products from these sectors; fossil fuels include coal, crude oil, natural gas, peat and traded-derived products; and metals include domestic extraction of metal ores, plus trade of metal ores, metal concentrates, refined metals, products mainly made of metals, and scrap.

Incineration with/without energy recovery: comprises the use of waste as fuel, mainly in power plants and cement kilns, and the thermal treatment of waste for disposal with the aim of reducing the volume and/or the hazardousness of the waste (e.g. incineration of health care waste).

Landfilling: Landfilling is defined as a deposit of waste into or onto land, including specially engineered landfill, and temporary storage of over one year on permanent sites. The definition covers both landfill in internal sites (i.e. where a generator of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of generation) and in external sites.

Material footprint: Expressed in tonne per capita. The material footprint is the global allocation of used raw material extracted to meet the final demand of an economy, thus including the raw materials used in the production of imported products. It is a model-based estimate that can deviate from those published by other international institutions or by the countries themselves.

Material productivity: Expressed in USD/Kg; domestic material consumption productivity is a measure of the effectiveness with which an economy employs directly used materials extracted from the natural environment (physical inputs) to generate economic value (monetary outputs).

Municipal waste: Waste collected by or on behalf of municipalities. It includes household waste originating from households (i.e. waste generated by the domestic activity of households) and similar waste from small commercial activities, office buildings, institutions such as schools and government buildings, and small businesses that treat or dispose of waste at the same facilities used for municipally collected waste.

Recycling: Recycling is defined as any reprocessing of material in a production process that diverts it from the waste stream, except reuse as fuel. Both reprocessing as the same type of product, and for different purposes are included. Direct recycling within industrial plants at the place of generation are excluded.

Biodiversity

Land use: Land area excludes area under inland water bodies (i.e. major rivers and lakes).

• Arable land refers to all land generally under rotation, whether for temporary crops (double-cropped areas are counted only once) or meadows, or left fallow (less than five years). These data are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.

• Permanent crops are those that occupy land for a long period and do not have to be planted for several years after each harvest (e.g. cocoa, coffee, rubber). Land under vines and trees and shrubs producing fruits, nuts and flowers, such as roses and jasmine, is so classified, as are nurseries (except those for forest trees, which should be classified under "forests and other wooded land").

• Arable and permanent crop land is defined as the sum of arable area and land under permanent crops.

• Permanent meadows and pastures refer to land used for five years or more to grow herbaceous forage crops, either cultivated or growing wild (wild prairie or grazing land).

• Forest refers to land spanning more than 0.5 hectare (0.005 km²) and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ. This includes land from which forests have been cleared but that will be reforested in the foreseeable future. This excludes woodland or forest predominantly under agricultural or urban land use and used only for recreation purposes.

• Other areas include built-up and related land, wet open land, and dry open land, with or without vegetation cover. Areas under inland water bodies (rivers and lakes) are excluded.

The data presented are taken from the FAOSTAT Land Use database. The definitions used in different countries may show variations.

Threatened species: The number of threatened species compared to the number of known or assessed species. “Threatened” refers to the categories of “endangered”, “critically endangered” and “vulnerable” species (i.e. species in danger of extinction and species soon likely to be in danger of extinction), as defined by the IUCN.

Terrestrial and marine protected areas as percentage of total land and of exclusive economic zone (EEZ): Protected areas are areas of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means. The data refer to the World Conservation Union (IUCN) management categories I-VI. National classifications may differ. The data cover areas under the management categories:

• I (strict nature reserves and wilderness areas),

• II (national parks),

• III (natural monument or feature),

• IV (habitat or species management area),

• V (protected landscape or seascape) and

• VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources),

• Areas nationally/internationally designated without any IUCN category assigned are also included. This category includes regional and international designations such as the European Natura 2000 network.

In general, under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the EEZ of a country extends 200 nautical miles from the coastline, or to the mid-point between coastlines where the EEZ of different countries would otherwise overlap.

Policy instruments

Environmentally-related taxation: Environmentally related taxes include taxes to (i) energy products for transport purposes (petrol and diesel) and for stationary purposes (fossil fuels and electricity); (ii) motor vehicles and transport (one-off import or sales taxes, recurrent taxes on registration or road use and other transport taxes); (iii) waste management (final disposal, packaging and other waste-related product taxes); (iv) ozone-depleting substances and (v) other environmentally related taxes.

The indicators on environmentally related taxes should be used in combination with information on the economic and taxation structure of each country. Note that revenue from fees and charges, such as water abstraction or waste collection charges, is not included as environmentally related tax revenue. Missing values can sometimes lead to visible 'breaks' in auto generated charts. For more information, please refer to the source data and metadata on OECD Data Explorer.

Effective carbon rates: The indicator presents the shares (in %) of CO₂ emissions from energy use priced above 0, 30, 60, 120 EUR/tonne of CO₂. Effective Carbon Rates (ECR) include fuel excise taxes, carbon taxes and tradable emission permit prices.

Environment-related technology (patents): The number of environment-related inventions. Indicators of technology development are constructed by measuring inventive activity using patent data across a wide range of environment-related technological domains (ENVTECH), including environmental management, water-related adaptation, and climate change mitigation technologies. The counts used here include only higher-value inventions (with patent family size ≥ 2). A patent family is defined as the set of all patent applications protecting the same ‘priority' (as defined by the Paris Convention), also referred to as ‘simple patent family'.

Environmental technology development (patents): The number of environment-related inventions is expressed as a percentage of all domestic inventions (in all technologies). Changes in ‘environmental’ technological innovation can then be interpreted in relation to innovation in general. Indicators of technology development are constructed by measuring inventive activity using patent data across a wide range of environment-related technological domains (ENVTECH), including environmental management, water-related adaptation, and climate change mitigation technologies. The counts used here include only higher-value inventions (with patent family size ≥ 2). A patent family is defined as the set of all patent applications protecting the same ‘priority' (as defined by the Paris Convention), also referred to as ‘simple patent family

Environment-related government R&D budget as percentage of total government R&D: Government budget for R&D refers to Government Budget Appropriations or Outlays for Research and Development (GBAORD), that measure the funds that government allocate to R&D to meet various socio-economic objectives. These objectives are defined using the Nomenclature for the Analysis and Comparison of Scientific Programmes and Budgets (NABS 2007) classification. Estimates of environment-related government RD&D are reported from the funder perspective as budget (rather than as expenditure from the performer perspective).This indicator is based on the socioeconomic objective “environment” which includes research directed at the control of pollution and on developing monitoring facilities to measure, eliminate and prevent pollution. It is expressed as a percentage of all-purpose GBAORD. Data on government expenditure regarding environment-related R&D are obtained from the Government budget appropriations or outlays for R&D (GBAORD) Dataset of the OECD Science, Technology and R&D Statistics Database. Additional information on the methodology for internationally harmonised collection and use of R&D statistics can be found in the Frascati Manual.

Fossil fuel support measures: The definition of support encompasses policies that can induce changes in the relative prices of fossil fuels in the support estimate level. Support measures refer to budgetary transfers and tax expenditures that provide a benefit or preference for fossil-fuel production or consumption.

The range of fuels covered by the Inventory comprises both primary fossil-fuel commodities (e.g. crude oil, natural gas, coal, and peat) and secondary refined or processed products (e.g. diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and coal briquettes). Primary fuels include in particular those fossil fuels that are extracted from unconventional sources, such as oil extracted from bituminous sands, shale-based natural gas, or coal-bed methane. Measures supporting the production or use of biofuels are not, however, included in the Inventory.

• Coal: including hard coal and briquettes, and peat.

• Natural gas: both liquefied and in the gaseous state.

• Petroleum: petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude oil as well as secondary refined or processed products (e.g. diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene).

• End-use electricity: electricity for end-user consumption of fossil-fuel origin. Support under end-use electricity includes measures providing electricity tariffs below cost recovery or annual average-cost pricing for electricity end-users and only includes the fossil-fuel component of the support (i.e. renewables and other non-fossil-fuel sources are excluded). Amounts related to cross-border power exchanges are also excluded due to the technical difficulties in determining the traded electricity’s ultimate generation origin. Support amounts benefiting fossil fuels as power generation inputs are aggregated under their respective fuel type, i.e. petroleum, coal or natural gas.

Renewable energy public RD&D budget as percentage of total energy public RD&D: Public budget directed at research, development and demonstration (RD&D) related to renewable energy, including hydro, geothermal, solar (thermal and PV), wind and tide/wave/ocean energy, as well as combustible renewables (solid biomass, liquid biomass, biogas) and other renewable energy technologies (all supporting measuring, monitoring and verifying technologies in renewable energies). It is expressed as a percentage of total energy RD&D public budget (directed at all forms of energy).

RD&D budgets of public entities (government, public agencies and state-owned enterprises, as defined by the IEA) cover research, development and demonstration related to the production, storage, transportation, distribution and rational use of all forms of energy. This covers basic research (oriented towards the development of energy-related technologies), applied research, experimental development and demonstration. Deployment is excluded from IEA Energy RD&D. Estimates of RD&D are reported from the funder perspective as budget (rather than as expenditure from the performer perspective).

Public energy RD&D includes all programmes that focus on: (i) sourcing energy; (ii) transporting energy; (iii) using energy; and (iv) enhancing energy efficiency. As collected by the IEA, these programmes concern one of the following seven main branches of energy-related developments: (i) energy efficiency; (ii) fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal); (iii) renewables; (iv) nuclear fission and fusion; (v) hydrogen and fuel cells; (vi) other power and storage techniques; and (vii) other cross-cutting technologies or research.

Data on public RD&D are obtained from the RD&D Budget Dataset from the IEA Energy Technology RD&D Statistics Database.

The energy RD&D data collected by the IEA should not be confused with the data on government budget appropriations or outlays on R&D (GBAORD) collected by the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry for the socio-economic objective “Production, distribution and rational utilisation of energy”, as defined in the Frascati Manual, which is a narrower concept.

Official Development Assistance: Total ODA comprises both screened and non-screened ODA bilateral commitments. ODA data are obtained from the Aid Activities Targeting Global Environmental Objectives dataset of the Creditor Reporting System of the OECD International Development Statistics Database.

Environmentally related Official Development Assistance (ODA) is expressed as a percentage of total ODA. Environmentally related ODA is identified using marker "Environment" and the set of “Rio Markers”. The Rio Markers specifically screen for policy objectives of a cross-sectorial nature, including climate change, biodiversity and desertification. This variable includes only data on bilateral commitments and is calculated by aggregating up from the level of the individual projects in order to avoid double-counting. ODA commitments identified using the "Environment" marker (principal or significant objective) include activities that are intended to produce an improvement in the physical and/or biological environment of the recipient country, area or target group concerned or include specific action to integrate environmental concerns with a range of development objectives through institution building and/or capacity development. The “Environment” marker was introduced in 1992.

ODA commitments identified using the “Rio markers” (principal or significant objective) include:

• Biodiversity-related aid is defined as activities that promote conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, or fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of the use of genetic resources. The biodiversity marker was introduced in 1998.

• Desertification-related aid is defined as activities that tackle desertification or mitigate the effects of drought. The desertification marker was introduced in 1998.

• Climate change mitigation-related aid is defined as activities that strengthen the resilience of countries to climate change and that contribute to stabilisation of GHG concentrations by promoting reduction of emissions or enhancement of GHG sequestration. The climate change mitigation marker was introduced in 1998.

• Climate change adaptation-related aid, approved by OECD-DAC members in December 2009, is defined as aid in support of climate change adaptation and complements the climate change mitigation marker, thus allowing presentation of a more complete picture of aid in support of developing countries’ efforts to address climate change. The climate change adaptation marker was introduced in 2010.

Underlying data

The underlying data are sourced from OECD and IEA databases available on the OECD statistical platform OECD Data Explorer. They build on data provided regularly by member countries through questionnaires and through direct inputs into OECD databases, and on data available from other official OECD and international sources (e.g. Eurostat, FAO, UNFCCC, EMEP, UNEP-IRP, UNEP-WCMC. Data collected by questionnaire are treated, harmonised and validated by the OECD in close co-operation with countries before public release and use in OECD work. To avoid duplication of efforts, already available official international data sources are used whenever possible.

Some data are produced by the OECD Secretariat using earth observation and geospatial data sources, and calculation methods developed in consultation with countries through their participation in the Working Party on Environmental Information (WPEI) (e.g. exposure to air pollution, changes and conversions in land cover, protected areas).

Updating frequency and timelines

The updating frequency and timelines vary from one dataset to another and hence from one indicator and graphic to another in the country profile. The graphics are updated automatically as new data become available in OECD Data Explorer. The updating frequency and timelines of the OECD Data Explorer datasets depend in turn on the OECD data collection processes and on the availability of updates in the primary data sources. Work in countries and at international level to improve the timeliness of major environmental data continues.

Data sources

Context

OECD, "Green growth", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00665-en

Climate change

IEA, "Detailed CO2 estimates", IEA CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Statistics: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00429-en.

IEA, "World energy statistics", IEA World Energy Statistics and Balances (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00510-en.

OECD, "Air emissions - Greenhouse gas emissions Inventories", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00594-en.

OECD, “Carbon dioxide embodied in international trade”, OECD Structural Analysis Statistics: Input- Output (database), http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=IO_GHG_2019.

OECD, "Green growth", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00665-en.

Air quality

OECD, "Air emissions - Air pollutants Inventories", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00598-en.

OECD, "Exposure to PM_2.5 fine particles - countries and regions", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/96171c76-en.

Mackie, A., I. Haščič and M. Cárdenas Rodríguez (2016), "Population Exposure to Fine Particles: Methodology and Results for OECD and G20 Countries", OECD Green Growth Papers, No. 2016/02, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlsqs8g1t9r-en

Freshwater resources

OECD, "Freshwater abstractions", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00602-en

OECD, "Wastewater - connection rates to treatment", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00604-en.

Waste and materials management

OECD, "Waste - Municipal waste: generation and treatment", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00601-en.

OECD, "Material flow accounts", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00695-en

Biodiversity

OECD, "Threatened species", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00605-en.

OECD, "Protected areas", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/5fa661ce-en.

OECD, "Land use", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/8ecc9c9c-en.

Policy instruments

IEA, IEA Energy Technology RD&D Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/enetech-data-en

OECD, "Creditor Reporting System: Aid activities targeting Global Environmental Objectives", OECD International Development Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/9c778247-en

OECD, "Environmentally related tax revenue", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/df563d69-en

OECD, "Environmental policy: Effective carbon rates", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/108c55c1-en

OECD (2021), Effective Carbon Rates 2021: Pricing Carbon Emissions through Taxes and Emissions Trading, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0e8e24f5-en.

OECD, "Green growth", OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00665-en.

OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels (database), http://www.oecd.org/fossil-fuels.

OECD, “Patents - technology development”, OECD Environment Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/env-data-en

OECD, "Government budget appropriations or outlays for RD", OECD Science, Technology and R&D Statistics (database), https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00194-en