1. WG Environmental Expenditure Statistics
Environmental transfers
(subsidies and similar transfers)
Unit E2 Environmental accounts and climate change
Luxembourg, March 2012

2. Overview Background Pilot exercise (2011) - results
Task Force meeting Issues discussed and decisions taken
Future plans
QUESTIONS
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

3. Background Mandate of a TF approved in 2009 by DIMESA:
environmental subsidies and similar transfers:
development of methodological guidelines and questionnaire
future module to be included in Regulation 691/2011
update of the 2001 statistical guide on environmental taxes (point 13.2 of the agenda)
TF met twice in 2010
Last meeting October 2011 to discuss:
results of the second pilot exercise
issues that emerged from the analysis of results
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

4. Pilot exercise 2011 Launched in February 2011:
template (Excel workbook)
guiding document containing basic concepts, definitions and data sources (as result of the 2010 meetings of the TF)
Aim - collect examples for:
each type of transfer
methodologies used and potential data sources
difficulties encountered
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

5. Pilot exercise 2011 Coverage:
description of the subsidy/transfer (name and short text)
type of transfer following ESA (current/capital/other transfer)
the institutional sector giving and receiving the transfer
NACE category
amount and environmental domain
Replies (end of July 2011): PT, FR, DE, SI, SE, IT + NL, NO and AT (useful information from grant reports)
Detailed description of the replies by country:
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

6. Pilot exercise 2011 - results
Data sources used:
data derived directly from national accounts
budget analysis
other sources investigated to obtain more specific information
First 2 combined
Classifications used - depending on the available information:
COFOG codes
environmental taxes classifications
CEPA or CRUMA
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

7. Pilot exercise 2011 - results
Challenges:
attribution to environmental domain (e.g. COFOG pollution abatement includes CEPA 1, 4, 5 and 7)
government transfers lumped together in packages which may consist of both current and capital transfers
environmental transfer is part of a programme which is not entirely environmental (e.g. the case of agricultural subsidies)
The institutional sector receiving the transfer is easier to identify, while for the distribution of environmental transfers by receiving NACE categories, it is not always easy to find the information
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

8. Task Force meeting 2011 - Issues discussed and decisions taken
Advantages and disadvantages of data sources:
national accounts
budget analysis
Environmental shares:
main purpose applied to single transfers
environmental transfers as part of programmes not entirely environmental: environmental share to be identified based on extra information (e.g. direct contacts)
Industry breakdown:
needed to analyse e.g. links to the level of emissions of certain industries, to emission permits or environmental taxes
use aggregated NACE breakdown for data collection (maximum 10 categories)
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

9. Task Force meeting 2011 - Issues discussed and decisions taken
Classification of environmental transfers:
CEPA/CRUMA
environmental tax categories (energy, resources, pollution, and transport)
when COFOG used as a source, the allocation to some CEPA classes requires specific work
split into different CEPA categories for some transfers (e.g. to agriculture or for energy saving)
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

10. Task Force meeting 2011- Issues discussed and decisions taken
Transfers in kind and other types of transfers:
transfers in kind are in scope
nature of items related to joint implementation and clean development mechanisms under the Kyoto protocol not entirely clear
tax credits reported as memo items
Agricultural subsidies:
environmental share of agricultural subsides - more insights in the EU documents on EU common agricultural policy (CAP)
further investigating the possibility of performing a screening of the EU budget to identify the environmental current and capital transfers going to the Member States
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

11. Task Force meeting 2011- Issues discussed and decisions taken
Environmentally harmful subsidies:
high on the political agenda (Rio +20, Resource efficient Europe, green growth, etc.)
several problems related to the identification of (potentially) environmentally damaging subsidies ((P)EDs) starting from the difficulty in agreeing on a common definition
major doubts on the usability of such statistics (a possible option is to make statistics on ‘transport subsidies’, ‘energy subsidies’ etc. – more neutral politically)
text regarding (P)EDs and possible ways forward to be included in the manual on environmental subsidies
no data collection envisaged in the near future
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

12. Future plans Drafting of the statistical guide ongoing
First pilot data collection:
Coverage: same as pilot exercise in the TF (see slides 4-5)
The excel workbook and guidelines used for the pilot exercise in the TF: currently updated
description of the subsidy/transfer (name and short text)
type of transfer following ESA (current/capital/other transfer)
the institutional sector giving and receiving the transfer
NACE category
amount and environmental domain
Launch of the pilot data collection: May-June 2012
Deadline: August 2012
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)

13. Is the deadline (August 2012) feasible?
QUESTIONS
Member States are kindly asked to participate in this pilot exercise. Who would be available to participate and contribute to gaining more experience in the field?
Is the deadline (August 2012) feasible?
March 2012
Environmental transfers (subsidies and similar transfers)