Download Measuring the Environmental Goods and Services Sector

12/11/2013
Measuring the Environmental
Goods and Services Sector
(EGSS) Statistics
ESCAP Expert Group Meeting on Strategies for
Improving Environment Statistics
Bangkok, Thailand, 2-4 December
EGSS Accrording to SEEA
•Environment
Protection (EP): prevention,
reduction and elimination of p
pollution and other
forms of degradation of the environment
•Resource
Management (RM): preserving and
maintaining the stock of natural resources and
hence safeguarding
g
g against
g
depletion
p
•EGSS
are activities if the primary purpose of the
activity is EP or RM.
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EGSS and the “green economy”
EGSS may be considered the “green”
portion of economic activities
 However, should be mindful of use of
term, e.g. in comparision to:

◦ UNEP Green Economy,
◦ “Green GDP”
Measuring..
Activity, which indicates the extent to
which economic units – governments,
governments
enterprises, households – are undertaking
activity which is beneficial to the
environment
 Output, value added, exports,
employment and investment

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3 types of EGSS producers in SEEA:
1. Specialist producers: primary activity is in
EGSS
2. Non-specialist producers: EGSS is not
primary activity
3. Own-account producers:
Environmental Taxes & Subsidies
Subsidies: Primary purpose of subsidy or
transfer is EP or RM
 Tax: a tax whose tax base is a physical unit
(or a proxy of it) of something that has a
proven, specific, negative impact on the
environment.

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Environmental Protection
Expenditure
•
•
•
Likely a key source of information for
understanding the scope of EGSS
But EGSS statistics are fundamentally
measures of supply (production of EGSS)
Thus, need to adjust for fact that EPE
show demand information
Challenges for Producing Guidelines
for EGSS statistics






Lack of practical examples
A wide range of goods and services that may be
considered to be produced for EP or RM purposes
This set of goods and services may change over time
Large variety of businesses that may be involved in
producing environmental goods and services
No single, straightforward approach to the compilation
of EGSS statistics
Need to consider multiple possible approaches…
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Selection of activities
Most feasible where detailed-level industry stats and
national accounts data sets are available
• Review complete list of activity classes and select those with
clear relationship to an EP or RM purpose
• May be helpful to prioritise (e.g):
•
– Market and non-market activities where primary activities such
as water and wastewater management, protection of natural
areas
– Other market activities that produce non-capital EGSS
– Production of capital/investment EGSS
– Other
Oth non-market
k t activities
ti iti
– Ancillary activities
–
Need to make some assumptions about shares of activity
relevant to EGSS; however, in principle EGSS statistics
derived from existing data sources
Ancillary activities
Significant portion of environmental
activities are ancillary,
ancillary e.g.
e g undertaken
within enterprises for own-use
 However may be the most difficult
portion of EGSS to measure
 Suggestion: Start by first considering
activities with the most significant
environmental impacts

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Selection of businesses
•
•
•
Rather than focus on activities, start with
g
and
examination of business register
Identify an EGSS register based on
knowledge of activities by businesses
Again, need for assumptions about shares of
activities relevant to EGSS, though in this
method EGSS shares can be identified
specific to busineses (as feasible) rather than
generally for industries
Selection of products
•
•
•
•
•
In principle, this is the approach described in
SEEA and other current guidelines
Would be ideal starting point
However, difficult in practice to identify
products that truly fit the SEEA criteria for
environmental
Also, challenge to relate products to
p y
or value added?
employment
Useful to refer to existing relevant lists
identified in context of legislation, or other
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Range of types of EGSS products

Adapted Goods
◦ Goods that have been specifically adapted to
be more environmentally friendly
◦ Example; mercury-free batteries
◦ EGSS includes only the extra costs paid for
adapted goods in relation to a non-adapted
reference point ((“normal
normal good
good”))
◦ Continuously evolving yet likely to be
significant portion of EGSS
Range of EGSSEGSS-relevant products

Adapted Goods
◦ Goods that have been specifically adapted to
be more environmentally friendly
◦ Example; mercury-free batteries
◦ EGSS includes only the extra costs paid for
adapted goods in relation to a non-adapted
reference point (“normal good”)
◦ Continuously evolving yet likely to be
significant portion of EGSS.
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EGSS Classification Challenges






Maintaining stability in classification because the primary purpose may
change over time – this has led to a stronger focus on the technical
nature of products in determining appropriate classification.
Di i i hi between
Distinguishing
b
cultivated
li
d and
d naturall resources iin the
h context
of resource management activity.
Separating water supply activity (not included) from water
management activities since these are generally undertaken by the
same economic units
Classifying recovered materials to classes within resource management.
Ideally the classification of the materials should align with the type of
material but this may be very difficult to apply.
The treatment of energy
gy sourced from waste material.
Links to relevant existing lists and classifications, e.g from Government
Finance Statistics according to government functions (COFOG)
APEC List of Environmental Goods
•
•
Very detailed and specific
Probably not completely consistend with
EGSS
– http://www.apec.org/Meeting-Papers/LeadersDeclarations/2012/2012_aelm/2012_aelm_an
nexC.aspx
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List of activities included in
Netherlands EGSS
Sewerage and refuse disposal services
Wholesale in waste and scrap
Environmental related inspection and control
Government governance relate to the environment
Organizations and associations on the environment
Internal environmental activities at companies
Renewable energy production
Energy saving and sustainable energy systems
Insulation activities
Organic agriculture
Recycling
Second hand shops
Water quantity control by waterboards
Environmental advice, engineering and other services
Industrial environmental equipment
Environmental technical construction
Environmental related education
Conclusions
Need to find ways to describe the scope of the
EGSS within a country using a variety of means
and various data sources.
 Unlikely that the data will be a perfect fit for the
concepts outlined in the SEEA Central
Framework
 But should be possible to provide sufficiently
robust information for the analysis
y of trends in
the production of environmental goods and
services and the general significance of this
activity in the economy.

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THANK YOU
Daniel Clarke, [email protected]
Acknowledgement: prepared with inputs from Carl Obst,
Obst
former SEEA Editor and ESCAP Consultant
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