This webbook builds on indicators available in the OECD and other international databases to monitor progress towards green growth and environmental performance in the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. It combines some central elements of the OECD Green Growth Indicators framework and the OECD Core Set of Environmental Indicators. This report is a first step in presenting available indicators for EaP countries to support the monitoring and progress towards the green transition. It will be improved and complemented as more data and indicators become available.
The green growth indicators framework, developed by the OECD in 2011 to support the implementation of its Green Growth Strategy, has been rapidly adopted by the EaP countries as an internationally recognised benchmark for monitoring green transition. Green growth indicators help track progress towards a green economy, facilitate informed decision-making, demonstrate accountability, raise public awareness of the links between economic growth and the environment, and compare progress between countries.
This publication covers indicators across five areas – the socio-economic context, the natural asset base, environmental resource productivity, environmental quality of life, economic opportunities, and policy responses. The publication aims to respond to the growing interest in green growth indicators and comparable environmental data in the EaP region by offering an innovative and interactive tool to policymakers and experts to monitor the green transition and increase the visibility of the EaP countries in the OECD-wide work. It can facilitate benchmarking with countries with similar environmental pressures, monitor progress and inspire policy reform. Furthermore, it can facilitate progress on the path of European integration, especially in the countries with EU candidate status.
While challenges remain, there are clear signs of progress across various indicators for countries in the region. There is also clear value in providing a basis for data sharing and comparability for benchmarking. However, a key meta-challenge in the publication is the gaps in the existing data, both in terms of indicator availability and the frequency with which data is updated.
