ABSTRACT
We begin our examination of governmental policy tools from the point of view of the organisation that looks at policy and performance on behalf of the industrialised world, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), located in Paris. Twenty years ago, the Environment Directorate of the OECD introduced the extremely useful tool, the ‘polluter-pays principle’, into the debate. Since then the Directorate has continued to conduct research on strategies for integrating environmental concerns into the economies of the world. In working for all 29 member countries—the club of developed nations—the OECD does an analysis and evaluation of the environmental policies of each country, leading the way in its role as dispenser of rational wisdom. Policy packages of taxes/subsidy reform, regulations, voluntary agreements, ‘right to know’ initiatives and government purchasing are just some of the tools for change that governments are using to help achieve sustainability.
