Learning from Environmental Accounting to Meet Climate Change Challenges

1
Learning from Environmental Accounting to Meet
Climate Change Challenges

• Julie L. Hass, European Commission Eurostat
• Climate Change, Development and Official
  Statistics
• 11-12 December 2008
• Seoul, Korea

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Foundations of Environmental Accounts
Economic Statistics
Environment Statistics
Economic Statistics
Environment Statistics
3
Statistics to
Accounts
4
Environmental Accounts 3 main types

• Physical flow and physical-monetary (hybrid) flow
• Economic Accounts and environmentally related
  transactions
• Asset accounts (physical and monetary)
• Source SEEA-2003

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Environmental Accounts

• Reuses existing data to a large extent
  reorganizes it so it can be matched to economic
  data
• Establishes matched data sets that can be
  confidently used for analysis purposes- hybrid
  accounts are especially important
• Identifies areas that are not covered in current
  statistics so these gaps can be filled
  (potentially)

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Need to adjust system boundaries to arrive at
matched data sets that can be used for analysis
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Similarities between Climate Change and
Environment

• Multifaceted
• Systemic
• Hard to define precisely
• Different meaning/emphasis in different countries
  / regions
• Already exists so captured within the statistical
  system but how do we separate it out so we can
  identify and analyse it on its own?

What can we learn from Environmental Accounts?
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Where is environment in current statistics?
Examples from environmental protection
expenditure accounts

• Total investment
• Of which, environment related investment
• Total current expenditure
• Of which, environment related expenditure
• Total RD expenditure
• Of which, environment related RD expenditure
• Total government expenditure
• Of which, environment related government
  expenditure

• National Accounts / Government Economic
  Statistics
• Investment
• Current expenditure
• RD
• Government accounts

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To identify more detail requires definitions,
classification systems for these activities,
methodology for implementation and reporting /
publication of statistics

• Definition of Environmental Protection
  ActivitiesEnvironmental protection activities
  are those where the primary purpose is the
  protection of the environment that is, the
  avoidance of the negative effects on the
  environment caused by economic activities.
  (5.29 SEEA-2003)

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Classification of Environmental Protection
Expenditure Activities (CEPA)

• Protection of ambient air and climate
• Wastewater management
• Waste management
• Protection of soil, groundwater and surface water
• Noise and vibration abatement
• Protection of biodiversity and landscapes
• Protection against radiation
• Research and Development
• Other environmental protection activities
• Classification is by main purpose

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Methodology

• For government expenditures Budget analysis
  methodology that can be used for establishing the
  national accounts statistics for functions of
  government (COFOG)
• Eurostat manual Environmental expenditure
  statistics General Government and Specialised
  Producers data collection handbookhttp//epp.eur
  ostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-RA-07-012/E
  N/KS-RA-07-012-EN.PDF

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Comparing EPE and Climate change

• Environmental Protection Expenditure
• Definition / identification criteria established
• Classification established CEPA
• Methodology established Budget analysis
• Annual statistics established National Accounts
  reporting according to COFOG (classification of
  functions of government)

• Climate Change government expenditures for
  mitigation and adaptation (Chapter 6 in the
  National Communication Report)
• Definition?
• Classification?
• Methodology?
• Reporting?

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What can we use from Environmental Accounts?

• Environmental Protection Expenditure Definition?
• Partially but identifying mitigation and
  adaptation is problematic
• CEPA classification?
• Partially but needs to include resource use and
  management dimension a proposal made at the
  Sept 2008 London Group meeting
• Budget Analysis Methodology?
• YES!

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Proposed Classification of natural Resource Use
and Management Activities (CRUMA)

• Proposal to London Group from Istat and Eurostat
  to extend the CEPA to include natural resource
  use and management
• 10. Use and management of inland waters
• 11. Use and management of natural forest
  resources
• 12. Use and management of wild flora and fauna
• 13. Use and management of fossil energy
• 14. Use and management of raw materials
• 15. Research and development activities for
  natural resource use and management
• 16. Other natural resource use and management
  activities

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Based on this example, what can we learn?

• The statistical system does have established
  systems that can contribute to monitoring changes
  over time the challenge is to identify what is
  related to changes in the climate.
• To identify climate change effects we need to
  identify if our classification systems are
  established in appropriate ways to separate out
  the effect of climate change.
• Need to systematically go through our systems and
  analyse if they need to be changed, work
  step-by-step for improvement over time

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What statistical systems?

• Classification of Economic activities
• Last revision in mid-1990s split ISIC 90 into
  90.1, 90.2, 90.3 to give more detail for waste,
  waste water and other environmental activities
• ISIC/NACE has been recently revised and currently
  being implemented in national statistical
  institutes so we can see the service industry in
  more detail
• How does this classification system need to be
  changed to make identifying climate change a
  natural part of this system?

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What statistical systems? A few examples...

• Job classification?
• Can we find those working on CDM projects?Or in
  other climate change related fields?
• Disease classification?
• Which diseases are we expecting to see increase /
  decrease? Will we be able to track these changes?
• Land cover / land use classification?
• How can we get this to be better?

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Where to go from here

• What are we trying to identify?
• Where is this already found within the
  statistical system?
• How can we more easily separate climate change
  information from the rest of the information in
  the categories we currently have in official
  statistics?
• What improvements need to be made?
• Yes this is complex but that should simply
  challenge us to be creative not stop us from
  this important work!