1 The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) – The measurement and monitoring framework for the environment-economy relationship for official statistics Ivo Havinga United Nations Statistics Division Interactive Dialogue of the General Assembly on Harmony with Nature, United Nations 20 April 2011

2 Outline of presentation 1.Brief history 2.Why do we need the SEEA? 3.What is the SEEA? 4.How do we draft and release the SEEA? – process and timetable 5.Summary

3 Brief history Policy Brundtland (WCED) – 1983 Agenda 21 – 1992 SIDS – 1994 & 2005 MDGs – 2000 Johannesburg – 2002 –Marrakech process Rio +20 Statistics Indicator sets (DPSIR, FDES) - 70s onwards SEEA-1993 – Interim report SEEA-2003 – Best practices SEEA-Water Statistical standard (interim) SEEA 2012 Statistical standard SEEA-Energy 2012

4 Why do we need SEEA? International agreed framework for official statistics for the measurement of the economic impacts on the environment and the environmental impacts on the economy International agreed organisation of economic, financial and natural assets (wealth) and flows of production/income, consumption and accumulation between the environmental and the economy International comparability of environmental and related socio-economic data – information pyramid

5 The information pyramid Indicators Accounts SEEA Basic data Econ. Stats|Env. Stats

6 Environmental-Economic Accounting and Environment Statistics Environment statistics and indicators: Often developed to answer one particular question or problem Difficult to figure out if all information is included Not always easy to see the whole picture, or how it relates to other things Source: Julie Hass

7 Environmental-Economic Accounting and Environment Statistics Environmental accounts: Help to make sense of the larger picture Help to identify pieces that are missing Can make connections to other economic and social statistics Source: Julie Hass

8 What is SEEA? Builds on the System of National Accounts (GDP, saving, lending/borrowing, etc) Extends environmental (natural) asset boundary, use now and by future generation (land cover(mountains, low and highlands, coastal areas), water, energy and minerals, forest, fish, etc. Includes physical valuations of environmental assets and flows (water, energy and minerals, forest, fish, etc.) Links monetary (market valued) and physical information Provides environmentally-adjusted aggregated for depleting environmental (natural) assets (for GDP, saving, etc.)

9 Territory of reference Environment Natural Resources (stocks) -Land -Water -Ecosystems -Soil -Etc. Natural Resource flows -Materials -Energy -Water -Ecosystem services -Etc. Economy Activities -Production -Consumption -Accumulation Instruments -Financial/Monetary -Taxes/subsidies -Financing -Resource rent -Permits Actors -Enterprises -Households -Government -Non-profit institutions 9 The SEEA Framework Outside territory of reference Analytical and Policy Frameworks -Productivity analysis -Natural resource management -Climate change -Green Growth/Green Economy Land/ Resource use/ Ecosystems Emissions/ waste

10 Categories of environment indicators Selected Indicators of –Efficiency of sustainable production Decoupling (material use, emissions) Multi factor productivity –Efficiency of sustainable consumption Embedded emissions Footprint indicators –Environmental assets Stocks and changes in stocks of land, natural resources and ecosystems –Fiscal/monetary instruments (response of society) Taxes/subsidies Permits Rent Environmental Goods and Services Sector (GDP and employment) Environmental protection and resource management expenditures Recurrent and capital cost and their financing SCP

11 SEEA and suite of publications Frameworks, international recommendations (IR), compilation guidelines, data, quality assessments, knowledge bases SEEAWater SEEA- Energy SEEA-MFA IRWSIRES Compilation guidelines DataData IRWaste Data … Best practices/knowledge base SEEA Data quality assessment

Example: Apppication of SEEA for water sector 12

13 How do we draft and release SEEA? – process and time table –Global consultation with countries and agencies on Chapters of SEEA – ongoing 2011 and 2012 –Internationally agreed central framework of SEEA for adoption by United Nations Statistical Commission – Part 1 – February 2012 –Ecosystem accounting for consideration by United Nations Statistical Commission – Part 2 – February 2013 –Policy applications for consideration by United Nations Statistical Commission - Part 3 – February 2013

14 Summary Developing SEEA as an international conceptual standard will be a critical milestone in mainstreaming accounting for the environment Affirming the SEEA as the measurement and monitoring framework for sustainable development/green economy by official statistical community Outreach and integrating policy and analytical framework with measurement framework

15 Thank You ! For further information and comments: United Nations Statistics Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs Ivo Havinga, Alessandra Alfieri,