UNECE Peer Review Mechanisms 6 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 StepImplemented by Time schedule: Example of Montenegro Preparatory mission (2 days)EPR and country’s Teams12-13 November 2013 Review mission (9 days)EPR and country’s Teams2-10 February 2014 Drafting, finalization and submissionECE secretariat and expertsAugust 2014 Expert review (in Geneva) Expert Group on EPR; Country’s delegation 30 Sept. - 1 Oct Peer Review (in Geneva) Committee on Environmental Policy Country’s high-level representative CEP session, October 2014 EPR publication ECE secretariatApril 2015 Launch event ECE secretariat and Country’s authorities 5 June 2015

Process Notes: a) Country Profiles on Housing and Land Management b) Environmental Performance Reviews c) Innovation Performance Reviews d) Studies on procedural and regulatory barriers to trade ReviewRequest Preparatory mission Review mission Expert group Governing bodyLaunch Housing a) XXX X (Adopted) X EPR b) XXXXX (Approved)X Innovation c) XXX X (Took note)X Trade d) XXX 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?