OECD Observer i-Sheet: Climate change and cities

Climate change and cities 17 September 2014

©Andrew Kelly/Reuters

i-Sheet

Beautiful waterways for the Big Apple Cas Holloway, Deputy Mayor for Operations, City of New York, and Carter Strickland, Commissioner, New York City Department of Environmental Protection

New York is investing in a greener, cleaner future. The need to rethink the traditional approach to managing stormwater led New York City’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, to unveil the NYC Green Infrastructure Plan in September 2010. A bold and innovative vision to improve water quality, the plan proposed to invest $2.4 billion in “green infrastructure” over 20 years.

Full article http://oe.cd/GW

©Rory Clarke

©Enny Nuraheni/Reuters

TOP STORIES

Climate change won’t wait

The active advantages of passive housing

Connie Hedegaard, Commissioner for Climate Action, European Commission

Brian McGarry, Economics Lecturer, La Salle-Ramon Llull University, Barcelona, Spain

The European Union may be facing some difficult economic challenges, but that’s no excuse for not acting now to create an economy based on resource efficiency and low-carbon development. The benefits are potentially enormous, including lower greenhouse gas emissions, more efficient use of energy and resources, and rising growth and innovation.

Imagine a house that keeps itself warm in the wintertime. Think of the savings in terms of fuel bills and unfriendly emissions. Such houses in fact exist. Called “passive houses”, the concept of these highly energyefficient buildings took root in the 1990s, before slowly consolidating as a niche construction concept in the 2000s. Are passive houses now actively moving into the mainstream as sustainable buildings?

Full article http://oe.cd/Hg

Full article http://oe.cd/He

NEWS BRIEF

ECONOMY: GDP in the OECD area grew by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2014, down from 0.5% in the previous quarter.

HEALTH: Health spending has started to rise again in several OECD countries, after stagnating or falling during the crisis.

SWEDEN plans to attain a net zero emission rate by 2050, it should reduce greenhouse gas emissions by improving the effectiveness of carbon tax policies and limiting sector exemptions.

On 18 June ANDORRA committed to automatic exchange of information in tax matters, thereby becoming the 48th signatory to the OECD declaration.

Full articles http://oe.cd/Hf BOOKSHOP

To order these titles and more go to: www.oecd.org/bookshop www.OECD-iLibrary.org See also www.oecd.org/environment/ and oecd.org/regional/regional-policy/urbandevelopment.htm

www.kpmg-glowtrack.com

TOP STORIES

Don’t forget the coastal waters!

Martha Crawford Heitzmann, OECD Environment Directorate

©Eric Gaillard/Reuters

Most people know the story of the Dutch boy who saved his country by plugging a leaking dyke with his finger until help arrived. For the Dutch, the story had a happy ending, but millions of people living on the world’s coastlands were not so lucky in the past year.

Full article http://oe.cd/Hh

What if Paris flooded?

The River Seine overflowing its banks is not an uncommon sight in Paris. But if an actual flood were to occur the damage to the city and its infrastructure would be considerable.

Paris floods since 1649 Metres

Exceptional floods 7 metres

Major floods 6 metres

9 8 7

Full article http://oe.cd/Hd

6 5 4

1649 1651 1658 1679 1690 1697 1711 1740 1751 1764 1784 1799 1801 1802 1806 1807 1817 1833 1836 1836 1844 1850 1872 1876 1882 1910 1919 1920 1924 1926 1930 1944 1945 1955 1959 1982

Over 5 million people would be affected, while the damage could be as much as €30 billion, affecting some 400,000 jobs in a worse-case scenario. Lives would also be at risk, as New York’s Hurricane Sandy sadly proved in 2012. Projects are under way in the Greater Paris area to improve flood defences, management and planning.

Source: Étude de l’OCDE sur la gestion des risques d’inondation : la Seine en Île-de-France 2014

Note: Measured at Paris-Austerlitz

The automotive sector: Steering beyond the crisis Caroline Klein and Isabell Koske, OECD Economics Department

©Jackie Naegelen/Reuters

The car industry has taken a dent since the recession started to bite in 2008, but even before then, new patterns were emerging that would reshape the sector for a long time to come.

Full article http://oe.cd/Hi MULTIMEDIA

What makes Parisians happy?

And how does it compare with the OECD Better Life Index?

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