OECD Environmental Performance - OECD

Preface
Foreword
Table of contents
General notes
Executive summary
Part I. Progress towards sustainable development
	Chapter 1. Key environmental trends
		1. Introduction
			Box 1.1. The economic and social context
			Figure 1.1. Economic performance in Nordic countries in 2000-12
		2. Transition to a low-carbon, energy- and resource-efficient economy
			2.1. Carbon and energy intensities
				Figure 1.2. Greenhouse gas emissions: Trend and sectoral breakdown in 2000-11
				Figure 1.3. Energy from renewable sources: Top 10 OECD countries in 2000 and 2012
			2.2. Resource efficiency
				Figure 1.4. Domestic material consumption and material productivity
				Figure 1.5. Generation and management of municipal waste in 1995-2012
				Figure 1.6. Gross nutrient balances and agricultural production in 2000-09
		3. Managing the natural asset base
			3.1. Biodiversity and ecosystems
				Figure 1.7. Land use and natural protected areas
				Figure 1.8. Species on the 2007 Red List of Iceland
				Figure 1.9. Fish production in 2000-12
			3.2. Water resources
		4. Improving the environmental quality of life
			4.1. Environment, well-being and health
			4.2. Air emissions and air quality
				Figure 1.10. Air pollutant emissions in 2000-11
				Figure 1.11. Air quality in the Reykjavík area in 1995-2011
			4.3. Water supply and sanitation
				Figure 1.12. Population connected to wastewater treatment facilities
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 2. Policy-making environment
		Assessment and recommendations
			Recommendations
		1. Key environmental and sustainable development initiatives
			1.1. Policies and initiatives at the national level
				Box 2.1. Land-use planning
			1.2. Regulatory framework
			1.3. Policies and initiatives at subnational level
		2. Institutional and co-ordination framework for environmental management
			2.1. Key institutions
			2.2. Horizontal and vertical co-ordination
		3. Environmental policy and performance evaluation mechanisms
			3.1. Environmental monitoring and reporting
				Figure 2.1. Iceland’s benchmarking results for data delivery to the European Environment Agency in 2000-12
				Box 2.2. Investigation of dioxin pollution from waste incineration
			3.2. Environmental impact assessment
				Table 2.1. Examples of EU and Icelandic thresholds for projects subject to EIA procedures
				Figure 2.2. The environmental impact assessment process in Iceland
				Figure 2.3. Number of EIA opinions issued by the National Planning Agency of Iceland in 2006-13
			3.3. Strategic environmental assessment
		4. Environmental permitting, enforcement and compliance assurance
			4.1. Environmental permitting
			4.2. Compliance monitoring and non-compliance response
		5. Promoting environmental democracy
			5.1. Access to environmental information and public participation in environmental decision making
			5.2. Access to justice
			5.3. Environmental education
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 3. Towards green growth
		Assessment and recommendations
			Recommendations
		1. Introduction
			Figure 3.1. Value added by sector in 2000-11
		2. Greening the tax system
			Figure 3.2. Revenue from environmentally related taxes as percentage of GDP in 2000-12
			Box 3.1. Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on the Strengthening of the Green Economy
			2.1. Taxes on energy products
				Figure 3.3. Taxation of energy in Iceland on a carbon content basis
				Figure 3.4. Taxation of energy on a carbon content basis in selected OECD countries
				Figure 3.5. Carbon taxes and fuel taxes in Nordic countries in 2012
			2.2. Taxes on motor vehicles
				Figure 3.6. CO2 abatement incentives in motor vehicle taxes in selected countries as of 2013
				Table 3.1. Rates of excise tax on motor vehicle purchases as of 2013
			2.3. Company car taxation
			2.4. Other environmentally related taxes, fees and charges
			2.5. Environmentally motivated tax preferences
		3. Extending the use of other market-based incentives for environmental policy
			3.1. The EU ETS
			3.2. Deposits on beverage containers for recycling
			3.3. Recycling fees on selected products
				Figure 3.7. Costs and revenue of the Recycling Fund in 2003-12
			3.4. Pricing of water and waste services
			3.5. Individual transferable quotas in the fisheries sector
		4. Removing environmentally harmful subsidies
			4.1. Agricultural support
				Figure 3.8. Agricultural support
				Box 3.2. Soil erosion
			4.2. Support to energy products
		5. The environmental goods and services sector
			5.1. The public sector
				Figure 3.9. Public expenditure for environmental protection
			5.2. Green public procurement
			5.3. The private environment-related sector
		6. Eco-innovation
			6.1. Policy framework
			6.2. Innovation performance
			6.3. Environment-related innovation
				Figure 3.10. Public R&D spending by sector
				Box 3.3. Examples of environment-related innovation in Iceland
		7. Environment, trade and development
			7.1. Official development assistance
				Figure 3.11. Official development assistance of Iceland and OECD-DAC countries
				Figure 3.12. Official development assistance for environment, water and renewables
			7.2. Trade and environment
				Figure 3.13. Export and import of goods and services in OECD countries and in Iceland
		Notes
		References
Part II. Progress towards selected environmental objectives
	Chapter 4. Energy and environment
		Assessment and recommendations
			Recommendations
		1. Introduction
		2. Key energy trends
			2.1. The energy mix
				Figure 4.1. Energy supply by source
				Figure 4.2. Electricity generation by source
				Figure 4.3. Use of geothermal energy
			2.2. Energy use and intensity
				Figure 4.4. Final energy consumption by sector
				Figure 4.5. Energy intensity and electricity consumption
		3. Environmental impact of the energy sector
			3.1. Impact on landscape, water and biodiversity
			3.2. Emissions from energy production and use
				Figure 4.6. Greenhouse gas emissions
				Figure 4.7. Emissions and concentrations of H2S
		4. The energy market and prices
			Box 4.1. Standards limiting concentrations of hydrogen sulphide in ambient air
			Box 4.2. The liberalisation of Iceland’s electricity market
			4.1. Electricity contracts with aluminium smelters
			4.2. Household energy prices
				Table 4.1. Household electricity prices in selected OECD countries in 2012-13
				Figure 4.8. Annual home energy costs in Nordic capitals as of April 2013
		5. Institutional and policy framework for integrating energy and environment
			5.1. Institutional framework
			5.2. Energy policy framework
				Box 4.3. Connecting Iceland’s electricity system to Europe?
				Table 4.2. Progress towards the 2020 target for the share of energy from renewable sources
			5.3. Climate policy framework
			5.4. Key energy and climate policy measures
				Table 4.3. Key energy and climate policy measures
		6. Planning and permitting for renewable energy infrastructure
			6.1. Master Plan for Hydro and Geothermal Energy Resources
				Box 4.4. Public concerns about energy-related projects
			6.2. Environmental impact assessment and permitting
				Box 4.5. Oil exploration and development
		7. Improving efficiency of final energy use
			7.1. Energy efficiency in the residential sector
				Figure 4.9. Energy prices for residential heating in mid-2013
			7.2. Reducing fossil fuel use in transport
				Figure 4.10. Road fuel consumption and private car ownership
				Box 4.6. Impact of electric vehicles on the power system
			7.3. Improving fuel efficiency of the fishing industry
		Notes
		References
	Chapter 5. Tourism and environment
		Assessment and recommendations
			Recommendations
		1. Key tourism trends
			1.1. Visitor trends
				Figure 5.1. Total international visitor arrivals and cruise passengers in 2000-12
				Box 5.1. Key characteristics of tourism in Iceland
				Figure 5.2. Total nights spent in all types of accommodation in 2000-12
			1.2. Tourism and the economy
				Figure 5.3. Direct contribution of tourism to OECD economies in 2012
		2. Role of environmental assets in tourism development
			Box 5.2. Selected natural attractions
			Figure 5.4. Factors influencing decision to travel to Iceland in 2011/12
		3. Key issues in interaction between environment and tourism
			3.1. Degradation of soil and vegetation
			3.2. Threats to fauna
			3.3. Degradation of landscapes
			3.4. Tourism infrastructure
			3.5. Seasonality and distribution of visitors
				Figure 5.5. Visitors to Iceland through Keflavík airport by month
		4. Environmental and tourism policies and institutions
			4.1. Policies and objectives
				Box 5.3. Environmental objectives of tourism strategies
			4.2. Institutional framework
				Box 5.4. Combining nature conservation and tourism in Vatnajökull National Park
		5. Selected policy responses
			5.1. Initiatives to address the environmental impact of tourism
			5.2. Financing of environment-related infrastructure
				Box 5.5. Tourist Site Protection Fund
			5.3. Strengthening quality of tourism operators
				Box 5.6. VAKINN environmental award criteria
			5.4. Promoting green innovation in tourism
			5.5. Information and research
		Notes
		References
Annex I. Selected data
	Annex I.A. Selected economic data – Economic context
	Annex I.A. Selected economic data – Energy
	Annex I.A. Selected economic data – Transport
	Annex I.B. Selected social data
	Annex I.C. Selected environmental data – Air
	Annex I.C. Selected environmental data – Climate
	Annex I.C. Selected environmental data – Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
	Annex I.C. Selected environmental data – Water and land
	Annex I.C. Selected environmental data – Material productivity and waste
Annex II. Actions taken on selected recommendations from the 2001 OECD review
Annex III. Abbreviations