1. Introduction to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts Central Framework (SEEA-CF 2012) European Statistical Training Programme (ESTP): Environmental taxes and subsidies Luxembourg, April 2017 Julie L. Hass, Ph.D.
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2. Outline Part 1. What is Environmental-Economic Accounting?
Part 2. Why do we need Environmental – Economic Accounting?
Part 3. What are the building blocks of the foundation for SEEA-CF?
Part 4. What can you do with Environmental - Economic Accounts?

3. Part 1. What is Environmental – Economic Accounting?

4. Environmental – Economic Accounts
Brings together 2 areas of statistics: Economic statistics and Environment statistics

5. Environmental – Economic Accounts
Connect the environmental consequences to the economic activity – at a detailed level – to allow further analyses

6. Main challenge in developing Environmental – Economic Accounts
Getting the two types of statistics aligned so they can be matched up and connected
Can seem like solving a jigsaw puzzle

7. Another challenge…
Enviromental statistics are often classified by geographic areas (municipalies, counties, etc.) or non-standard industrial groupings. BUT…
Economic statistics are classified by industries (NACE or ISIC)
Need to convert from geographic areas to industries, i.e. from «where» to «who» is polluting

8. Environmental – Economic Accounts
Physical Flow Accounts: Supply and Use Tables expanded to include environment
Energy
Water
Air emissions
Material Flows

9. Environmental – Economic Accounts
Economic Activities related to the Environment:
Identify – by separating out – the expenditures by various economic actors that have the main purpose of protecting, managing or cleaning up the environment
Households
Government
Industries

10. Environmental – Economic Accounts
Asset accounts:
Calculate values of natural resources (minerals, energy resources, timber, fish, etc.) by assigning a value to the estimates of the stocks/reserves of physical natural resources.
Convert from physical units to monetary units:

11. Part 2. Why do we need Environmental – Economic Accounting?
Aren’t statistics enough?

12. Why make environmental accounts? Aren’t environmental statistics enough?
Statistics are…
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.

13. Why make environmental accounts? Aren’t environmental statistics enough?
Helps to make sense of the larger picture.
Helps to identify pieces that are missing
Can make connections to other statistics - especially economic statistics

14. Part 3. What are the building blocks of the foundation for SEEA-CF?

15. Environmental-economic accounts are built using good statistics, both environmental & economic statistics
If Environmental Accounts are thought of as a house
These are the foundations
Environmental statistics
Economic statistics

16. Without good statistics in the foundation, environmental - economic accounts can NOT be developed
Environmental Accounts
Environmental statistics
Economic statistics

17. Building blocks: Economic statistics
Information from the National Accounts by detailed industry:
Value Added
Intermediate consumption
Employment
Also important are the Supply and Use Tables – at their most detailed level

18. Building blocks: Environment statistics
Framework for the Development of Environment Statistics (FDES)
Six components
At the center of the FDES: Environmental conditions and quality
All of the components relate to each other
Multi-layered (component, sub-component, topic, individual statistics)

19. Physical flows, natural resource assets and economic activity in FDES
Economic Activity Accounts
Natural Resource Asset Accounts
Physical Flow Accounts

20. Difference between SNA boundary and territory boundary (Main difference is usually international transport)
Residents
Non-Residents
National Territory X
Rest of World
Examples: Emissions Inventory, Energy balances
SNA: GDP
Subtract these!
Add these!

21. Building blocks… Economic statistics/National Accounts
The more advanced and detailed your national accounts, the more you can do!
BUT… you can do a fair amount with fairly basic information from your statistical system

22. Environmental activity accounts and related flows
For example:
Finding environmental expenditures, taxes, and subsidies in existing statistics.
Have «Total Investment» – want investment related to environmental protection and management separated out.
Have government expenditures – want only those expenditures related to the environment.

23. Challenges… Lack of data and/or details
Not enough detail in the national accounts
Details lost or not obtained from source data
Need to implement COFOG and use other relevant classifications when collecting data and producing statistical systems
Infrequent business surveys – every 5 years
Details
Details
Details
Details
Details
Details

24. Part 4. What can you do with Environmental - Economic Accounts?

25. Intensity / Efficiency indicators
Intensities: Emissions of greenhouse gases by value added tonnes carbon dioxide equivalents per million SEK (2010 prices)
Total greeehouse gas emissions (CO2-equivalents), output (constant 2005-prices) and emission intensity for Norwegian economic activity (excluding households)

26. Decomposition Analysis – Why do we see these patterns of change?
Source: Statistics Norway

27. Profiles
Environmental Economic Profiles 2008 and 2013
Source: SCB

28. Environmental Taxes Total Environmental Taxes in Sweden,
, current prices, SEK million

29. Environmental Protection Expenditure in Industry

30. Environmental Goods and Services
Overview environmental sector in Sweden, 2003–2013 
Number of establishments, turnover, export and gainfully employed.
Source: SCB

31. Summary – SEEA-CF 2012: https://unstats. un

32. Environmental-Economic Accounts SEEA-CF 2012
Physical Flow Accounts
Environmental Activity Accounts and related flows
Natural Resource Asset Accounts
Combined presentations of accounts / indicators

33. Thank you for your attention!
Julie L.Hass, Ph.D.
Independent consultant