European experience regarding environmental accounts: Institutional, Financial and Technical aspects Dr Cameron Easton Spatial Information Policy & Standards Efficiency and Transformational Government Division Rabat 25 th May 2011

European experience with environmental accounting Reminder SEEA Development of NAMEA by Netherlands Adoption of NAMEA by EU 1994 Development of SEERIE 1994 Green Accounting 2003 European Strategy for Environmental Accounting ESEA Revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting ESEA Fast track implementation of simplified ecosystem capital accounts

Development of Policy at EU level European experience with environmental accounting Main elements Development of statistics methodology and data collation Eurostat Development of environmental methodology EEA Implementation of state level environmental accounts Member States

European experience with environmental accounting Development of Policy 1994 COM (94) 670 Directions for the EU on Environmental indicators and Greened National Accounting 1997 Amsterdam Treaty harmonises statistics Integrates environment with general economic and sustainability policy Some key policy initiatives 2007 Beyond GDB - Requirement for integrated environmental-economic accounting Complementing physical accounts with monetary figures 2006 Sustainable Development Strategy Extend core system of national income accounting by integrating stock and flow concepts and non-market work including satellite accounts e.g. environmental expenditures, material flows taking into consideration international best practices

Functions of Eurostat in environmental accounting Developing methodologies for environmental accounting Collating data from member states Publishing data from member states Linking environmental accounts with environment statistics Publishing analysis of collated environmental accounts Contributing to international standards – SEEA 2012 Implementation of Policy - Eurostat

Functions of Eurostat - Development of Methodology The Director's meeting on Environment Statistics and Accounts (DIMESA) is a high-level group composed of senior officials from the European Statistical System and from the Environmental Protection Agencies. discusses and adopts the strategy of Environmental Statistics and Accounts. The Environmental Accounts Working Group and Environmental Expenditure Statistics Working Group Agree methodological and practical issues relating to environmental accounts. Development of methodology done in partnership with member states

Functions of Eurostat - Development of Methodology Publication of guidance manuals/handbooks Manual for Air Emission Accounts Handbook on environmental goods and services sector 2009 Economy wide material flow accounts and derived indicators A methodological guide 2001 Economy wide material flow accounts compilation guide 2009 Environment expenditure statistics Industry data collection handbook 2005 Environment protection expenditure General government and specialised producers data collection handbook 2007 Environmental taxes - Statistical guide 2001 OECD/Eurostat environment protection and review joint questionnaire 2005 SEERIE environmental protection expenditure account conversion guidelines 2005 SEERIE environmental protection expenditure accounts Compilation guide 2002 European framework for integrated environmental and economic accounting For forests 2002 Workbook related to SEERIE environmental protection expenditure account Compilation guide 2002 SEERIE – European System for the collection of economic information on the environment 1994

Functions of Eurostat - Collation of data Air emission accounts questionnaire 2010, revision 1/09/2010 New JQ 2010 Environmental Protection Expenditure and Revenues, Euro New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues nat. currency New JQ 2010 Environmental Protection Expenditure and Revenues New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues nat. currency New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues, NACE 2 Euro New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues, NACE 2 nat. currency New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues, NACE 2 nat. currency New JQ 2010 Environmental protection expenditure and revenues, questions New Questionn Environmental taxes by economic activities, NACE Rev. 1.1 New Questionn Environmental taxes by economic activities, NACE Rev. 2 Economy-Wide Material Flow Accounts Questionnaire 2009 EGSS Trial Data Collection 2009 EGSS First Official Dta Collection, Questionnaire 2011 EGSS First Draft List of Products based on CPA Data collected from Member States by questionnaires

Functions of Eurostat - Publication of data Database holds data for Monetary flow accounts Physical flow and hybrid accounts Data tables published for all aspects of environmental accounts and statistics General and regional statistics National Accounts Sector accounts Etc

Functions of Eurostat - Publication of collated information and analysis Collated information and analysis of: Monetary flow accounts Topics include: Environmental Protection Expenditure Environmental taxes Environmental goods and services sector (EGSS) Country Studies For projects funded by EC Physical flow and hybrid accounts Topics include: Economy wide material flows NAMEA air survey 2006 Economic activities and pressure on environment 1995 – 2001 Country studies Environmental Asset Accounts Topic include Natural resource accounts Oil and gas Forests Subsoil assets – pilot studies Water accounts – pilot studies Country studies

Functions of EEA in environmental accounting Developing methodologies for economic - environmental accounting Linking with Eurostat data collection and analysis Publishing data from member states Linking environmental accounts with environment statistics Publishing analysis of collated environmental accounts Developing Fast track implementation of simplified ecosystem capital accounts for Europe Contributing to international policy and standards Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) Draft CICES presented to UNCEEA in June 2010 Implementation of Policy - European Environment Agency (EEA) Priority Projects for EEA Land Cover Accounts Water Accounts Sustainable Consumption and production Ecosystem Capital Accounts

Land Cover Accounts European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas Land cover accounting methodology defined Methodology published in EEA Report 11/2006 Land Accounts for Europe 1990 – 2000 (Towards integrated land and ecosystem accounting) Methodology covers basic land cover stock and flow accounting techniques Identifies classifications Contextualises landscape analysis and land cover accounts Uses 1km sq grid – aggregated for reporting units

Land Cover Accounts European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas EEA Report 11/2006 covered Data for 1990 and countries Land Cover data updated 2009/10 Update covers countries Results used in 2010 State of Environment report

Land Cover Accounts European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas GlobeCorine Partnership with European Space Agency Experimental Programme Automatic updating of land cover accounts Data available 2006 – EU Area 2009 – EU Area - Eastern Mediterranean - Southern Mediterranean

Water Accounts European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas SEEA Water 2007 Development of system for Water Accounts Methodology covers Spatial elements Hydrological units based on river hierarchy Link to Water Framework Directive reporting Time elements Monthly data where possible Rainfall River flow Soil humidity Etc Allows definition of water stress First water resource accounts Cover 5 countries Delivery end 2010 Remaining member states 2011

Sustainable Consumption and Production European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas 2006 Sustainable Development Strategy 2008 Sustainable Consumption and Production Action Plan SCP requires: Analysis of: Material flow accounts Input/output hybrid accounts under NAMEA Integration of SCP analysis and ecosystem accounts Flows and trade Ecological sustainability of resources and benefits

Ecosystem Capital Accounts European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas Ecosystem accounts needed to record Supply of ecosystem goods and services Assess ecosystem potentials and integrity. Health, viability Significant are of EEA activity 2007 Beyond GDB - Requirement for integrated environmental-economic accounting Complementing physical accounts with monetary figures 2009 Joint meeting Eurosat and EEA Fast track implementation of simplified ecosystem capital accounts for Europe Contributing to: Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) Draft CICES presented to UNCEEA in June 2010

European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas Developing Ecosystem Capital Accounts Joint Project: Eurostat covers economic sectors EEA covers ecosystems Priority physical accounts defined: Land (land cover accounts) Carbon Water Biodiversity Accounts cover: Balance of stocks and flows within ecosystem as economic system Ecosystem health account Basic economic balances linked to commodities accounts Flows of Land Carbon water Linkage with geographic data – crops, timber use, water use Overlay resource use and ecosystem condition – productivity/health Defines ecological sustainability coefficients Accounts include estimation of non-recorded ecosystem/maintenance costs

European Environment Agency (EEA) - Priority Areas Developing Ecosystem Capital Accounts Defining Ecosystem Services Assessing benefits from Ecosystem Services Pragmatic functional approach being taken Identify ecologically sustainable economic benefits from healthy ecosystems Benefits identified from beneficiary sector accounts Ecological sustainability coefficients from physical accounts Ecosystem services from use of selected ecosystem functions Not liner relation to ecosystem capital Is scale dependent Therefore pilot projects on selected ecosystem services First priorities Carbon sequestration Water purification

Environmental Accounting Progress in Member States Environment Accounts defined well defined many countries e.g. Germany environmental accounting since 1980s Fully compatible with SNA; SEEA based Leader in development of material and energy flow accounts Accounts for emissions, land-use, water, environmental expenditure, environment related taxes Netherlands NAMEA accounting since 1993 Accounts for air and water emissions, energy flows, environmental taxes, waste, nutrients and subsoil Sweden Environmental accounting since 1990s Accounts follow SEEA Asset accounts for forests Flow accounts for water use, energy, chemicals, air and water emissions, waste. Accounts fro environmental expenditure, environmental taxes and environmental subsidies France Environmental accounting since 1908s Some natural resource asset accounts Physical flow accounts Resource management expenditure accounts Forest asset accounts Subsoil asset accounts Flow accounts for water, recycling, air emissions (NAMEA), water emissions Environment protection expenditure accounts well developed Developing water asset accounts Disaggregates government expenditure on biodiversity Some other member states have less well developed and partial accounts

For example: Carbon Assessment Project As part of the process that will inform the setting of targets and the options for meeting them Scottish Government has embarked upon the Carbon Assessment Project ( CAP). The assessment of the carbon impact of Government activity and spend on the wider economy currently features three main strands of work: The development of a methodology for providing a high level assessment of the carbon impact of total Government spend - a High Level Assessment; the refinement and implementation of methodologies to assess the carbon impact of individual policies and projects - an Individual Level Assessment. development of mechanisms for using both the individual and high level assessments to drive down emissions associated with government spend and in the wider economy. Environmental Accounting Scotland Very Limited Progress Some pilot projects only

Ecosystem Services work also leads to participation in Global Partnership for Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services (WAVES) 2010 Simplified Ecosystem Capital Accounts will feed into SEEA 2012/2013 Ecosystem Services experimental work has led to participation in CICES, and 2010 report to UNECEEA Environmental Accounting in Europe Next Steps Further work on Revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting - ESEA 2008

Environmental accounts need to meet the policy demand, e.g: – Measure resource efficiency: maximize benefits while maintaining capital – Indicators to supplement and/or adjust sector and macro-economic aggregates – Policy agenda: continuity, annual updates for year t –1 are needed –National statements, internationally comparable… Physical accounts supporting monetary accounts: – Ecosystem services & sustainable benefits –Ecosystem capital state/degradation & depreciation (consumption of ecosystem capital) Accounts deep rooted into verifiable observation datasets: – Socio-economic statistics (agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, population) –Monitoring by satellites (land cover, biomass, climate variables…) –Best available in situ monitoring data (water, biodiversity…) At the start, relevance matters more than accuracy: – Modeled or surrogate estimations are acceptable if based on verifiable datasets –Estimations need to be transparent and reproducible (for measuring change) Accounts need to be compiled at various scales: – National as well as Global, local government, business –Implementation: in parallel top-down and bottom-up Environmental Accounting in Europe Some Issues Issues are similar to those for international standards