1. Environmental Accounts and Indicators
“International Workshop on Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting”
Copenhagen 30/11 and 1/
Environmental Accounts and Indicators
European Commission – Eurostat – Unit E3
Rainer Muthmann
Elisabeth Møllgaard

2. Source: Eurobarometer – May 2006

3. Overview Mandate ESEA – European Strategy for Environmental Accounting
Environmental Accounts at Eurostat
Co-ordination
Other Statistical Sources
Sustainable development indicators (SDIs)
The Future

4. The Mandate: ESEA (I)
The European Strategy for Environmental Accounting
Adopted by the Statistical Programme Committee in 2003
Based on recommendations from the ESEA Task Force (Eurostat, Member States, EEA, DG ENV)
“…The environmental accounting strategy aims at satisfying effectively and efficiently user demand for statistics needed for integrated economic and environmental policy making…”
“…It focuses EU-wide implementation on a core set of common priority areas where methods and data sources exist…”

5. ESEA (II)- implementation
Major contributions to the SEEA manual as a methodological framework document
Economic environmental accounts (environmental protection expenditure, environmental taxes, environmental industry )
NAMEA - National Accounts Matrix with Environmental accounts (air emissions, water flows, water emissions, energy, waste)
Economy-wide Material Flow Accounting
Environmental Asset Accounts (Forests (timber), water quality, water quantity, land accounting, subsoil assets)

6. Environmental Accounts at Eurostat (I)
Environmental Accounts have to be conceived as fully compatible satellite accounts to the National Accounts
Comprehensive framework well suited as a checklist
Good statistical cover
Good environmental accounts starts with good environmental statistics

7. Environmental Accounts at Eurostat (II) – with close links to
Data Centres on Waste, Natural Resources and Products (IPP)
Environmentally related Structural Indicators (SIs) and Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs)
Integration of environmental concerns into sectoral policy fields like: agriculture – transport – energy …

8. Co-ordination
Internal - inside EU institutions:
Group of Four co-ordinating environmental statistics and accounts between DG ENV, EEA, JRC, Eurostat
External – with Member States:
Annual “Directors’ Meeting” (DIMESA) to bring the two networks together: EIONET (Ministries and Agencies)
ESS – European Statistical System
Purpose: Improve coordination at national level for better planning the Annual Work Programmes and the Multi Annual Work Programme
International:
Joint Questionnaire: Eurostat – OECD

9. Valuable other statistical sources for environmental analysis
Eurostat production Statistics (PRODCOM)
Foreign trade
Pesticide use pilot surveys
Structural Business Statistics – environmental expenditure
Joint questionnaire with the OECD
Land use statistics
Area Frame Sample Surveys
Second step: Direct link to Risk Analysis, Risk Indicators, ex. REACH, HAIR

10. Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs)
The general framework of the SDIs, 150 indicators developed in the close cooperation with the ESS and international experts (
20 indicators on environment, forest indicators
Examples:
Domestic Material Consumption
IRENA Agri-environmental indicators (sectoral approach) by DG ENV, DG AGRI, EEA
Indicators connected to Environmental Assets (e.g. air quality, greenhouse gases )

11. The near Future
New ESEA Task Force in 2007 with the aim to revise the strategy by 2008
Methodological development areas: Economy wide MFA: now with Environmental impact, Better coverage for EU Aggregates
Joint Working Programme: Eurostat – EEA
Contribution to revision of SEEA as an international standard
The Inter-secretarial Working Group on Environmental Statistics, UNCEEA and the London Group