System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA)System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012: Central Framework – final, official publication 2012, UN, EC, IMF, OECD and World Ban
"System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting"
United Nations, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and World Bank 2012, 378 pp. is a framework to compile

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a s ...

linking environmental statistics to

economic statistics Economic statistics is a topic in applied statistics and applied economics that concerns the collection, processing, compilation, dissemination, and analysis of economic data. It is closely related to business statistics and econometrics. It ...

. SEEA is described as a satellite system to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

System of National Accounts The System of National Accounts or SNA (until 1993 known as the United Nations System of National Accounts or UNSNA) is an international standard system of concepts and methods for national accounts. It is nowadays used by most countries in the w ...

(SNA).EC, IMF, OECD, UN & World Ban
"System of National Accounts 2008"
European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Natiosns and World Bank, New York, Dec. 2009, 1993, lvi + 662 pp. This means that the definitions, guidelines and practical approaches of the SNA are applied to the SEEA. This system enables environmental statistics to be compared to economic statistics as the system boundaries are the same after some processing of the input statistics. By analysing statistics on the economy and the environment at the same time it is possible to show different patterns of sustainability for production and consumption. It can also show the economic consequences of maintaining a certain environmental standard.

Scope

The SEEA is a satellite system of the SNA that consists of several sets of accounts. In broad terms, the area can be described as enabling any user of statistics to compare

environmental issues Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...

to general economics, knowing that the comparisons are based on the same entities, for example,

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

levels caused by a producing industry can be linked to the specific economics of that industry. The different areas of SEEA can be briefly described as follows:

Flows of materials and energy

By this is meant flows of materials and energy through the economy, e.g.,

fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

and chemicals, together with their emissions, may it be air emissions,

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

waste Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor Value (economics), economic value. A wast ...

to which these flows give rise. Data on emissions, above all to the air, have been published for many countries, in particular, European countries following SEEA. The main difference between traditional emissions statistics and emissions in environmental accounts are related to the system boundaries. For example, the inventories produced for the reporting of air emissions to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

(UNFCCC) are based on the geographic borders of a country while the air emission accounts following SEEA use the boundary of a specific economy (this is the "residence principle" of the national accounts). This difference is mainly shown in transport emissions as all emissions caused by an economy are included in SEEA. For example, emissions from

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

s or

airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...

s are allocated to their country of origin, even if the emissions occur outside of the borders of this country. Moreover, in the UNFCCC inventories, "transport" is a specific sector of its own and it is not possible to know the share of households and of different industries in the transport emissions. Other statistics that have been developed with relation to flows of material are economy-wide material flow accounts and still being developed are energy flow- and water flow accounts.

Environmental economic statistics

Economic variables that are already included in the national accounts but are of obvious environmental interest, such as investments and expenditure in the area of

environmental protection Environmental protection, or environment protection, refers to the taking of measures to protecting the natural environment, prevent pollution and maintain ecological balance. Action may be taken by individuals, advocacy groups and governments. ...

, environment-related taxes and subsidies, and environmental classification of activities and the employment associated with them, etc. In principle, environmental taxes and environmental protection expenditures can be regarded as two sides of the same coin. Both entail costs involved in production processes that are related to the exploitation of the environment in different ways. On the one hand, environmental protection expenditures record spending on measures aimed at improving the environment, while on the other hand, taxes record the costs set by a government for the exploitation of the environment. Thus, in the total cost of production, the environmental taxes paid can be added to expenditure on environmental protection.

Stocks of natural resources

Natural resources in the sense that the accounts should make it possible to describe stocks and changes in stocks of selected finite or

renewable resource A renewable resource (also known as a flow resource) is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of t ...

s. These accounts deal with questions related to the monetary valuation of this

natural capital Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms. Some natural capital assets provide people with free goods and services, often called ecosystem services. All of t ...

, the physical quantities and qualitative aspects that do not have any market monetary value, e.g., the value of outdoor recreation and

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

. Such accounts may be compiled for sub-

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

assets (e.g.,

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geologi ...

resources), biological resources (e.g.,

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s, fish stocks), land and

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

Ecosystem accounts

The SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) is a statistical framework that provides a coherent accounting approach to the measurement of ecosystems. Ecosystem accounts enable the presentation of data and indicators of ecosystem extent, ecosystem condition, and

ecosystem service Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from ecosystems. The interconnected living and non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean air and water, decomposition of wast ...

s in both physical and monetary terms in a spatially explicit way. The United Nations Statistical Commission adopted the SEEA EA standard at its 52nd session in March 2021. Following its adoption, the Statistics Division of the

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is part of the United Nations Secretariat and is responsible for the follow-up to major United Nations Summits and Conferences, as well as services to the United Nations Econ ...

(UN DESA) in collaboration with the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP) and the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) released the ARIES for SEEA Explorer in April 2021, an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

-powered tool based on the Artificial Intelligence for Environment and Sustainability (ARIES) platform for rapid, standardized and customizable natural capital accounting. The ARIES for SEEA Explorer was made available on the UN Global Platform in order to accelerate SEEA’s implementation worldwide.

History

In the statistical sphere the development of SEEA was begun in the early 1990s. As with the development of the national accounts, the experts involved came from large international organisations, national statistical offices, researchers from universities and consultants. Experts in economics, environmental issues and statistics have developed the SEEA to a point were statistics can be compiled, analysed and published. In 2012 the United Nations Statistical Commission adopted the SEEA as a statistical standard.Documents for the forty-third session of the Statistical Commission New York, 28 February to 2 March 2012, UN

The concept of

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

encouraged the development of integrated environmental and economic accounts. The first interim version of the System of Environmental and Economic Accounting was made available in 1993 by the United Nations.Handbook of National Accounting System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting 1993, UN
" System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting"
United Nations, 1993, 198 pp. According to Joy E. Hecht, PhD, the 1993 handbook did not receive the approval of the United Nations Statistical Commission "...because it did not represent a consensus report but was offered to UN members as a basis for discussion and experimental implementation".National environmental accounting: bridging the gap between ecology and economy, 2005, JOY E. HECHT, PhD
" National environmental accounting: bridging the gap between ecology and economy"
Resources for the future, 256 pp. The United Nations Statistical Division carried on working with SEEA through the establishment of a city group called the London Group in 1994 (as the first meeting was held in London). The London Group is still active and is an informal group consisting of experts primarily from national statistical agencies but also international organisations and researchers from universities. In March 2005 the United Nations Statistical Commission established the UN Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA).Environmental-economic accounting Report of the Secretary-General, UN
" Environmental-economic accounting Report of the Secretary-General"
Statistical Commission Thirty-sixth session 1–4 March 2005 Item 6 (a) of the provisional agenda Natural resource and environment statistics: environmental accounting, 6 pp. This group consists of national statistical offices,

Eurostat Eurostat ("European Statistical Office"; also DG ESTAT) is a department of the European Commission ( Directorate-General), located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statist ...

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...

European Environment Agency The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment. Definition The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides ...

, several UN divisions such as the

United Nations Statistics Division The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), formerly the United Nations Statistical Office, serves under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as the central mechanism within the Secretariat of the United Nations ...

, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia,

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC, ECLAC or ''CEPAL'', in Spanish: ''Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe'') is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooper ...

, and

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

depending on the agenda and availability. The meeting participants are to be directors or similar in rank. This group has e.g. as their purpose to: # to mainstream environmental-economic accounting and related statistics # to advance the implementation of the SEEA in countries. Another city group has also worked with SEEA. The so-called Nairobi Group was established in 1995 by the

. Environmental Accounting, OECD STD/NA(97)23
/ref> The group was to advance international work in the fields of environmental and natural resource accounting and consisted of experts from developing and developed countries, international organisations and non-governmental organisations. With the release of the operational manual on SEEA in 2000 the work of the Nairobi Group has stopped.
Handbook of National Accounting Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting An Operational Manual, United Nations, 2000, New York European progress in the field has been driven by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

and national statistical offices. In 1994, the European Commission issued a communication for the establishment of green national accounting
Directions for the EU on Environmental indicators and Greened National Accounting – Integration of Environmental and Economic Information Systems COM (94) 670 based on satellites to the System of National Accounts. Eurostat, and the European Statistical Offices used this as a basis for the development and implementation of the different topics and modules described in the SEEA 1993. In more recent years, in June 2006, the

European Council The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...

adopted "an ambitious and comprehensive renewed EU Strategy for Sustainable Development". It was then stated that: "For better understanding of interlinkages between the three dimensions of SD ustainable Development the core system of national income accounting could be extended by inter alia integrating

stock and flow Economics, business, accounting, and related fields often distinguish between quantities that are stocks and those that are flows. These differ in their units of measurement. A ''stock'' is measured at one specific time, and represents a quantity ...

concepts and non-market work and be further elaborated by satellite accounts, e.g., environmental expenditures, material flows and taking into consideration international best practices."
Review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy (EU SDS)− Renewed Strategy, 10917/06 p. 29) The strategy has since then been revised (in 2009) but the topic remains on the agenda in Europe.
Mainstreaming sustainable development into EU policies:2009 Review of the European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development, COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONSCOM(2009) 400 final p. 16) The high level conference "Beyond GDP" in November 2007 at which Commissioner Dimas concluded that "we he European Commissionwill also need to speed up and improve the development of integrated accounting in the social and environmental spheres" increased the interest for SEEA. The idea of Beyond GDP is to increase the use of indicators related to environment and social aspects in relation to indicators such as the

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...

(GDP) "...to address global challenges such as climate change, poverty,

resource depletion Resource depletion occurs when a natural resource is consumed faster than it can be replenished. The value of a resource depends on its availability in nature and the cost of extracting it. By the law of supply and demand, the Scarcity, scarcer ...

and health" (Beyond GDP web-site). In 2009 the European Commission issued a communication ''GDP and Beyond: Measuring Progress in a Changing World''
GDP and beyond Measuring progress in a changing world, COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COM(2009) 433 final pp. 11) describing the need to complement

economic indicator An economic indicator is a statistic about an Economics, economic activity. Economic indicators allow analysis of economic performance and predictions of future performance. One application of economic indicators is the study of business cycles. ...

s such as the GDP with social and environmental indicators. According to this communication, the European Commission plans to extend the existing data collection further, ready for policy analysis by 2013.

Implementation

Within the European Statistical System (ESS) as well as in other countries, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand the further development of SEEA and the implementation of the framework has led to a focus on compiling statistics related to flows of materials (air emission, energy use, waste flows and water flows) rather than analysing stocks of natural resources. One reason is that information from the parts of SEEA related to flows of materials have been in more demand from the user community. Another reason is that it has been possible to develop harmonised approaches on which sound statistical practises could be implemented in relation to environmental economic statistics. (The ESS "...is the partnership between the Community statistical authority, which is the Commission (Eurostat), and the national statistical institutes (NSIs) and other national authorities responsible in each Member State for the development, production and dissemination of European statistics."
Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on European statistics (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164)) European statistical offices and Eurostat are following a European Strategy for Environmental Accounts.Revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting, 68TH MEETING OF THE STATISTICAL PROGRAMME COMMITTEE 2008, CPS 2008/68/7/EN
" Revised European Strategy for Environmental Accounting"
Luxembourg, 13 November 2008. As part of the strategy, a legal base was proposed for the collection of data on Environmental Accounts.Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on European environmental economic accounts, Brussels, 9.4.2010 COM(2010)132 final 2010/0073 (COD)
" Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on European environmental economic accounts"
Brussels. The legal base was passed in 2011 and extended in 2014 Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts, Official Journal of the European Union L 192 Volume 54 22 July 2011
"Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts"
Official Journal of the European Union, EUR-LEX, L 192 Volume 54 22 July 2011. The legal base contain six modules that countries within the European Economic Area needs to conform to. These modules are air emission accounts, environmental taxes by industry, economy-wide material flow accounts, environmental protection expenditure accounts, environmental goods and services sector, and physical energy flow accounts.

References

External links

United Nations dedicated website to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting

Eurostat's dedicated section to Environmental Accounts and environmental statistics

United Nations city group: London Group

United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental – Economic Accounting

Eurostat home web-site

OECD and EEA database on instruments used for environmental policy and natural resources managementStatistics Sweden's dedicated section on Environmental Accounts

Environmental accounting: Information and Data in Austria

NAMEA – hybrid accounts in environmental accounting in Austria
{{DEFAULTSORT:System Of Integrated Environmental And Economic Accounting Environmental statistics Statistical data agreements Official statistics