OECD Faults U.S. for Lack of Global Leadership on Environment

PARIS, France, January 11, 2006 (ENS) - The United States needs to play "a more proactive role in dealing with global environmental concerns," finds a 10 year review of U.S. environmental progress by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) based in Paris. The review team says the United States needs to make more efficient use of energy and water to safeguard economic prosperity while protecting the environment and human health.

The OECD is a 30 nation forum in which democracies work together to address economic, social and environmental challenges of globalization. All member nations have been evaluated twice since the program began.

The review evaluates the ways in which the U.S. manages air quality, water resources and biodiversity and how it integrates environmental concerns into economic and fiscal policies. Based on more than 700 interviews conducted by OECD's review team during a two week visit to the United States in 2004, it assesses how well the country meets its international environmental commitments.

The peer review team included members from Australia, Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom and OECD Secretariat staff.

In its report, the review team indicates a need for greater U.S. leadership in addressing global environmental concerns on climate change, biodiversity and toxic chemicals. Despite progress in some areas over the past decade, more effort is needed in others the OECD said.

Constance Morella is the U.S. permanent representative to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Photo courtesy U.S. State Department)

The report commends the United States for being a pioneer in market-based solutions, innovative policies and partnerships for an improved environment.

And it commends the United States for "decoupling" environmental pressures from economic growth and details progress in key areas

On the basis of this evaluation, the report recommends that the United States should:

• use energy more efficiently in order to remain internationally competitive in the face of rising energy prices while responding to concerns about global warming

• make more use of economic instruments to reinforce environmental objectives, and to apply the user-pays and polluter-pays principles

• allocate water more rationally and address persistent quality problems in surface water

• develop and implement a national environmental health strategy, targeting cost-effective reductions of environmental health risks

• better integrate nature conservation and climate adaptation concerns into land use and coastal zone planning

• follow through on undertakings in relation to international environmental co-operation, with particular focus on climate protection, biodiversity and managing chemicals

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson (Photo courtesy EPA)

At a briefing Tuesday in Washington, Johnson said, "The report documents, for example, that from 1996 to 2005, the United States reduced pollution during a period when there was a 10 percent increase in the size of the U.S. population and a 30 percent increase in the nation's gross domestic product."

The report recognizes U.S. achievements since 1996:

• reduced emissions of lead, nitrogen oxides and other substances, combined with systematic use of cost-benefit analysis to support air-quality management

• leadership in environmental science, which has raised international understanding of environmental health risks and costs

• renewed focus on results-oriented environmental management, building on historically strong legislation, effective regulations and their enforcement

• effective use of tradable permits, for example for control of air pollutants and ozone depleting substances and for management of water resources, that set international best practices

• initiatives by states, municipalities, and corporations to address climate change concerns.

The report includes 51 recommendations that, OECD said, "could contribute to further environmental progress in the United States." These include:

• Continue to emphasize cooperation among federal agencies and between federal and state agencies involved in environmental management.

• Continue to implement measures to achieve the new standards for ground-level ozone and fine particulates.

• Strengthen management of hazardous air pollutants by monitoring local ambient concentrations, regularly updating and publishing inventories of toxic releases and cost-effectively assessing residual risk.

• Improve coordination and cooperation in setting federal water objectives and policies.

• Develop and implement a national environmental health strategy, defining targets and cost-effective measures for reducing the environmental burden of disease, and indicators to monitor progress.

Overall, the OECD report urges the United States to increase the efficiency of its environmental management and energy use, projecting that doing so would yield economic benefits.