New OECD Report on environmental policy design

Citation

(2010), "New OECD Report on environmental policy design", Management of Environmental Quality, Vol. 21 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/meq.2010.08321fab.002

New OECD Report on environmental policy design

Article Type: News From: Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, Volume 21, Issue 6

Environmental policies must provide the right incentives for the development of innovative technologies that reduce pollution and mitigate the effects of climate change. This report by the OECD has investigated the characteristics of policies that are likely to encourage green innovation and concluded that those that are stringent, predictable and flexible are the most effective. This study suggests that policy characteristics that are likely to encourage technological innovation include: stringency (the environmental target should be ambitious); predictability (the policy measure should not increase investor uncertainty); flexibility (the policy lets the investor identify the best way to achieve the environmental objective); incidence (the policy should directly target the pollutant); and, depth (the policy should provide continuous incentives for technology development). Details can be seen at: www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/2/44805905.pdf