1.4. Delimitación
2.1.8.3. Elementos de base
7.2.1 Background and description
Environmental accounts are an information sys- tem that uses statistics to describe the links be- tween the environment and the economy. Just like national accounts, they work on the basis of sectors, households and public agencies. The areas included so far in environmental accounts in Sweden are emissions to air and water, waste,
147.Finnveden et al. (2007). 148.Moll & Watson (2009). 149.Moll & Watson (2009).
energy use, material flows, chemicals, environ- mental protection expenditure, environmental enterprises, environmental taxes and subsidies, and natural resource issues. The Swedish system began to be developed in 1993. Today, some twen- ty countries, inside and outside the EU, produce environmental accounts. According to the UN, the rate at which new countries are adopting the system is too slow. The EU is therefore about to introduce legislation that will require all member states to report environmental accounts data for a number of well developed areas. A legislative proposal is being considered during 2010, cover- ing data on emissions to air and environmentally related taxes, broken down by economic activity, together with economy-wide material flows. In Sweden, environmental accounts are produced by Statistics Sweden. Up to now, they have not been used for regular follow-up of the environmental objectives.
7.2.2 Method150
Sweden’s system of environmental accounts can show both direct and indirect emissions associat- ed with Swedish consumption. Indirect emissions are calculated using environmentally extended in- put–output analysis, which is one component of the environmental accounts. These national envir- onmental pressure data then need to be supple- mented with environmental data from the coun- tries from which goods are imported. There are various ways of doing this. One method works on the assumption that environmental pressures in other countries are the same as in the import- ing country. It is assumed that production abroad looks like it does in Sweden and generates the same emissions of air pollutants. This approach chiefly brings out differences that are a result of the product mix of imports and exports, for example raw materials versus processed goods.151 In Swe-
den’s case, it underestimates pressures in the form of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions. Nevertheless, the method is still sometimes used, as many of the countries Sweden imports from do not have detailed environmental statistics.
A more refined method calculates emissions using national, but not sector-specific, emission coefficients for foreign countries. Ideally, envir- onmental data broken down by sector would be used, and this can be done where countries report using environmental accounts categories.152 7.2.3 Advantages and weaknesses
Advantages of environmental accounts include: • According to several experts, including from the
European Environment Agency (EEA), environ- mental accounts have great potential and should be used much more than they are at present.153
150. Statistics Sweden (2002). 151.Statistics Sweden (2000). 152.Statistics Sweden (2000). 153. SOU 2009:83, Bilagedel. Capital Labour Materials Energy Industries Households Public sector Goods Services Waste Emissions
Inputs Agents Outputs
figure 17. Links between the economy and the environment in environmental accounts
source: statistics sweden
Environmental accounts describe the environmental pressures arising from a country’s economic activities, through production and consumption. Producers use energy, materials, labour and capital to produce goods and services. Production processes and consumption also generate waste and emissions to air and water. Environ- mental accounts set out to quantify these flows and the relationships between them.150
• With planned European legislation, which will result in all EU countries reporting environ- mental accounts data, the quality of the data used in the calculations will be further im- proved.
• The method is established at the global level and is used in many countries around the world. • The results are produced by a central govern-
ment agency, making for high credibility. • The system is well documented.
• Data and time series are available – although they vary in quality.
• Data from environmental accounts can be used for areas of varying size.
When environmental accounts are used to cal- culate the environmental pressures arising from consumption, they rely on environmentally exten- ded input–output analysis, the weaknesses of which are described in section 7.1.2.
7.2.4 usefulness
Environmental accounts are chiefly relevant to the environmental quality objectives Reduced
Climate Impact, Clean Air, A Non-Toxic Envir- onment and Zero Eutrophication.
The initial impression is that Sweden’s environ- mental accounts could be a useful supplementary method of calculating and monitoring the global environmental pressures from Swedish consump- tion in the framework of the environmental ob- jectives system.
In making this assessment, particular account has been taken of the fact that the method is es- tablished at the central government level in many countries, that the results are produced by a cen- tral government agency, and that the system is well documented. However, environmental ac- counts may need to be developed further, in terms of both the quality of the data used (e.g. for other countries) and wider coverage of types of emis- sions and other pressures (including land require- ments).
7.2.5 development projects relating to environmental accounts
eurOpeAN MeThOdOLOgy prOjecT – eIpOT
A research project known as EIPOT, Environmen-
tal Impacts of Trade, was carried out in 2008–9
by authorities in 13 EU countries. The aim was to develop an internationally accepted statistical methodology to quantify and assess the global en- vironmental impacts of goods and services.154 The
project sought to bring together existing knowl- edge and ongoing research in this area. It also re- viewed the methods already available or under development. Based on these methods, a suitable approach for use by the participating countries was identified, specified and developed. The best starting point for an EIPOT method was judged to be an environmentally extended, multi-region input–output framework,155 using data obtained
from countries’ environmental accounts. However, a great many of the data required to produce stat- istics of this kind are not yet available.156, 157, 158
154.Stockholm Environment Institute, EIPOT, Background. (Online.)
155.An environmentally extended, multi-region input–output framework involves extended environmental accounts calculat. ions, covering more countries, often with more detailed product groups, and with more modelled data than are available from statistical agencies (V. Palm, email, 25 Mar. 2010).
156.SOU 2009:83, Bilagedel. 157.Wiedmann et al. (2009). 158.V. Palm (email, 27 Nov. 2009).
eu prOjecT ON eNvIrONMeNTAL preSSureS frOM eurOpeAN cONSuMpTION ANd prOducTION
In a study for the EEA, the European Topic Cen- tre on Sustainable Consumption and Produc- tion (ETC/SCP) used statistics to answer two key questions concerning sustainable consumption and production:
• Which elements of European consumption and production patterns are the key causes of envir- onmental pressures, including resource use? • Where can the greatest environmental gains be
attained?
The aims were to contribute to European policy- making on sustainable consumption and produc- tion and to identify the areas with the greatest potential for environmental improvements. The method used was the same as that employed by Statistics Sweden for environmental accounts, i.e. environmentally extended input–output analysis. Four categories of direct environmental pressures were studied, namely
• greenhouse gas emissions • acidifying emissions
• emissions of tropospheric ozone precursors
• domestic extraction of materials.159