Introduction

As stated in the preface, the elimination of market and intervention failures in the environment would be a step in the direction of what the Brundtland Commission has called “sustainable development”. Achieving sustainable development will inevitably mean having to resolve conflicts between environmental and economic objectives. However, the first priority in working toward sustainable development should be to take advantage of those situations where improved economic efficiency and a healthier environment are actually compatible. The search for these “win-win” situations has been a major focus of recent work within the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).