UNECE Peer Review Mechanisms6 July 2015

Peer review mechanisms•Environmental Performance Reviews– Committee on Environment Policy

•Country Profiles on Housing and Land Management– Committee on Housing and Land Management

•Innovation Performance Reviews – Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration

•Studies on Procedural and Regulatory Barriers to Trade– Steering Committee on Trade Capacity and Standards

EPR Process 1/2•Preparation

•Review Mission

•Expert Review

•Peer Review

•Publication

•Launch

EPR Process 2/2

Step Implemented by Time schedule:Example of Montenegro

Preparatory mission (2 days) EPR and country’s Teams 12-13 November 2013

Review mission (9 days) EPR and country’s Teams 2-10 February 2014

Drafting, finalization and submission ECE secretariat and experts August 2014

Expert review (in Geneva)

Expert Group on EPR;Country’s delegation 30 Sept. - 1 Oct. 2014

Peer Review(in Geneva)

Committee on Environmental PolicyCountry’s high-level representative

CEP session, 28-31 October 2014

EPR publication   ECE secretariat April 2015

Launch event ECE secretariat and Country’s authorities 5 June 2015

Process

Notes:a) Country Profiles on Housing and Land Managementb) Environmental Performance Reviewsc) Innovation Performance Reviewsd) Studies on procedural and regulatory barriers to trade

Review RequestPreparatory

missionReview mission

Expert group

Governing body Launch

Housing a) X X X   X (Adopted) X

EPR b) X X X X X (Approved) X

Innovation c) X X X   X (Took note) X

Trade d) X X X   X (Took note) X

Croatia: 2nd Environmental Performance Review, 2013

•Benefits for the reviewed country - contribution to the improvement of national

environmental management

- objective, well-argumented and non-judgmental

report by the recognized authority

- neutral perspective

- well framed, constructive recommendations

- a number of recommendations corresponding to national MDG environmental targets

- report serves as a basis in preparation of environmental policy documents

Croatia: Examples of policy changes due to EPR

• Waste management: - remediation of official and illegal landfills

- construction of waste management centers

- investments in primary waste selection system

• Cleaner transport: - co-financing in procurement of ecologically acceptable vehicles for public and companies

- determination of excise duty according to ecological criteria

- Act on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles

- the “greening” of public transport in cities and municipalities

Germany: Role of the reviewer country•Triple role of Germany: reviewer in the ECE, donor for the reviews in ECE, and reviewed country in OECD

•Review of EPR report in consultation with an official country delegation of the reviewed country, with particular attention given to conclusions and recommendations.

•Support the ECE EPR Programme with human and financial resources for many years (since 2010, 8 EPRs supported).

•As a member of OECD, Germany’s performance is also regularly reviewed (3 reviews since 1990’s; last one in 2012 with 29 recommendations).

Germany: Benefits for a reviewer? •EPRs install a policy dialogue among countries

•EPRs stimulate cooperation between countries and identify needed areas for further cooperation

•EPRs improve environmental convergence throughout the UNECE region

•EPRs create opportunities for a mutual learning process between countries

Questions for discussion•What could be the added value of regional peer review mechanisms in a multi-layered accountability framework on SDGs?

•Can the broad scope of SDGs be covered by peer review mechanisms?

•What existing bodies or platforms could be engaged in SDG peer review?