1. System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Measurement framework towards sustainability
Alessandra Alfieri
Chief, Environmental-Economic Accounts Section
United Nations Statistics Division

2. Outline History The need for the SEEA The nature of the SEEA
The development of the SEEA
Next steps

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

4. Why we need SEEA?
The economy impacts on the environment and the environment impacts on the economy
The state of the environment and its health are important insofar as they provide services to humanity
To understand these linkages we need to integrate environmental and economic information
An accounting framework brings discipline to the organisation of environmental and related data

5. The information pyramid

6. Environmental-Economic Accounting and Environment Statistics
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

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 statistics - especially economic statistics

8. SEEA - the national accounts for the environment
Uses accounting concepts and classifications to environmental information
Links to the national accounts for the economy
Broad definition of environmental assets
Links monetary and physical information
Separately identifies information already part of the national accounts for the economy
Enables national accounts to be adjusted for depletion of natural resources and allocated the

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

10. SEEA accounts and aggregates – Central framework
Asset accounts: record stocks and changes in stocks (flows) of natural resources such as land, forest, water and minerals
Physical and hybrid flow accounts: provide a systematic physical description of production and consumption processes, including their natural resource inputs, product throughputs and outputs i.e. wastes. Link the physical information to the economic accounts
Monetary accounts: separately identify environmentally- related transactions presented in the existing SNA flow accounts in order to make them more explicit for analysis
Environmentally-adjusted aggregates: combine modules of SEEA to form a full-sequence of accounts from which aggregates such as Green GDP, or Net Saving can be derived.

11. SEEA and the policy quadrants
Improving access to services and resources I
Managing supply and demand II
III
Improving the
state of the
environment and
reducing impacts IV
Mitigating and
adapting to extreme events
Sustainability

12. Quadrant I – Improving access to services and resources
SEEA informs policies that aim to ensure households access resources and services
Relevant indicators that can be used to inform those policies are:
Investments in infrastructure for delivery
Losses in distribution
Costs of services

13. Quadrant II – Managing supply and demand
Refers to allocation of natural resources
The following indicators can be derived directly from the SEEA:
Efficiency of production
Decoupling
Multi factor productivity
Efficiency of consumption
Embedded emissions
Footprint indicators
Costs of production and costs paid by users (fees, taxes, rents, permits)
Financing (who pays for the investments and current costs)
Depletion estimates

14. Quadrant III-Improving the state of the environment and reducing impacts
Covers policies related to the health and capacity of ecosystem to provide services and reducing the impacts on the environment.
Possible indicators that can be derived from the SEEA are:
Environmental protection and resource management expenditures
EGSS
Emissions of pollutants into air and water and waste
Land use and land cover
Economic instruments

15. Quadrant IV – Mitigating and adapting to extreme events
Refers to policies that aim to reduce the potential harm created by extreme events and changing environmental patterns
Possible indicators that can be derived from SEEA:
Expenditure for mitigation and adaptation
Measure to assess the impacts of disasters

16. The development of SEEA
Three parts
Part 1 – Central framework (to be adopted as international statistical standard)
Part 2 – Experimental Ecosystem accounting
Part 3 – Extensions and applications

17. SEEA Vol. 1 – Chapter structure
Ch. 1 - Introduction and policy relevance
Ch. 2 - Statistical framework
Stocks and flows in physical and monetary term
Statistical units
Boundaries (environment/economy, production and asset boundaries)
Classifications
Ch Physical flow accounts
Flows environment/economy and within economy,
MFA, Energy and water
Ch. 4 – Monetary flow accounts
EGSS
Environmental Protection Expenditure and Resource Management Accounts
Taxes/subsidies, permits, rents, depletion
Ch. 5 – Asset Accounts
Physical and monetary stocks and changes in stocks for land and natural resources (e.g. mineral and energy resources, water, biological resources, etc.)
Ch. 6 – Summarizing and integrating the accounts
Hybrid accounts

18. SEEA Part 2 – Experimental ecosystem accounts
Conceptual framework – perspective of the environment
Statistical units for ecosystems and their link with economic units
Classification of ecosystem service
Full carbon accounting
Ecosystem health
Monetary accounts
Link to the SNA valuation principles
Valuation of selected services

19. SEEA Part 3 - Applications
Audience
Analysts and producers
Technique based presentation
Input-output and CGE modelling
Resource efficiency and productivity indicators and the use of hybrid tables
Composite indicators
Depletion adjusted saving techniques
Consumption based I-O analysis / footprint techniques
Decomposition analysis
Complemented by glossy publications

20. The development of SEEA
Central framework (Chapters 1-6) are out for global consultation (until 7 December 2011)
Adoption by UN Statistical Commission expected in March 2012
Part 2 and Part 3 – planned for UN endorsement in 2013 (best practices)
Work overseen by UNCEEA
London Group on Environmental Accounting considering technical issues
World Bank, EEA and UNSD are leading the development of experimental ecosystem accounts
Extensive consultation with national statistical offices and other key stakeholders

21. The SEEA and supporting suite of publications
Energy balances
e.g. IRES
Compilation Material
SEEA-Energy
e.g. IRWS
Other water statistics
Compilation Material
SEEA-Water
Output frameworks
Systems frameworks
Intermediate frameworks
SEEA
Input frameworks
Data
Data Quality Assessment Frameworks
Metadata and documentation (e.g. SDMX)
ISIC, CPC, Asset Classification, Class. of Environmental Activities, Class. of Physical Flows etc
Cross functional frameworks

22. Implementation of SEEA
Strategy of implementation being discussed by the UNCEEA
Agreement on a minimum set of accounts and tables linked to the policy relevance
Water and energy simplified accounts are good candidates
Training material to be developed on water and energy – London Group on Environmental Accounting to play a key role
Could simplified tables for EGSS be considered?

23. Way forward
Developing SEEA as an international standard will be a critical milestone in mainstreaming environmental-economic accounting
Reaffirming the SEEA as the measurement and monitoring framework for sustainable development/green economy
Integration of policy/analytical and measurement framework
SEEA to be recognized in Rio
Move forward in implementation