The Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) identify good practices and make recommendations to improve the reviewed country’s environmental policies and programmes.
Environment Ministers of OECD member countries in January 1991, called on the OECD to review environmental performance in member countries. This mandate was confirmed by the OECD Council meeting at Ministerial level in June 1991, and supported by the London G-7 economic summit in July 1991.
Since work began in 1992, over 60 Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) of the OECD members countries have been conducted under the management of the OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance (WPEP).
Most OECD member countries have now been reviewed twice. Some OECD non-member countries have also been reviewed, including China. The third cycle of the EPRs, launched in 2009, aims to sharpen the focus on performance and on selected issues that are of high priority in the reviewed countries.