BIOECONOMY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECT

• Amendment of aquatic invertebrate (freshwater) guidance • Adaptation of US EPA OPPTS mammalian toxicity/pathogenicity guidelines as OECD Test

Guidelines

• Development of a list of secondary metabolites of concern • Development of a list of non-target insect species that could be tested (in the laboratory) Website: https://oe.cd/innovating-microbial-pesticide-testing Other relevant EGBP activities: The EGBP is currently developing an OECD Guidance Document on Baculoviruses as Plant Protection Products. This will complement the Consensus Document on Information Used in the Assessment of Environmental Applications Involving Baculoviruses [ENV/JM/MONO(2002)1] published by the Working Party on the Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology in 2002. Only a few additional, publically available safety studies have been carried out during the last 20 years, but the new Guidance Document will extend the 2002 Consensus Document by referring to new knowledge on the biology of baculoviruses, as well as the describing experiences using baculovirus as a plant protection agent. Website: https://www.oecd.org/chemicalsafety/pesticides-biocides/biological-pesticides.htm. Contacts: Magda Sachana, Patience Browne (ENV/EHS)

BIOECONOMY AND CARBON MANAGEMENT PROJECT

The workshop “Transition towards carbon neutrality” on 9 November 2022 was organised by the Ecomondo Scientific Technical Committee and the OECD. It reviewed progress to date on a project about Carbon Management of the Bio-, Nano- and Converging Technologies (BNCT) working party of the OECD.

The project investigates the complex transition from today’s fossil carbon to a new energy and renewable carbon future. The pathway is relatively clear in energy, reflected in the current success of solar and wind technologies, but other sectors will also have to be addressed.

At the workshop, case studies from six countries were showcased and discussed. There was an emphasis on North America (Canada and United States) and Asia (Japan and Korea) to give the audience a wider perspective than Europe.

Q&A was limited as four of the six presentations were prerecorded. However, the floor was opened to the audience with the theme of public engagement, and this became a lively session, with strong views on how it can and should be done e.g. deliberative events, web-based delivery of short and straightforward documents that allow people to understand what net-zero carbon is and now it might be achieved through different technologies.

Contact: James Philp (STI/STP)

16