Environmental Accounts

A short video from the Office for National Statistics providing a guide to Environmental Accounts.

The wheel contains all the domains of well-being and the measures contained within each one. In all cases the latest datapoint is shown and where applicable the previous corresponding one. The wheel also contains the units of measurement as these vary depending on the indicator used.

A spreadsheet presenting a range of data for the proposed measures of National Well-being.

Rates have fallen in recent years due to stricter regulations and alternative fuels

Environmental Accounts are “satellite accounts” to the main National Accounts. Satellite accounts are extensions to National Accounts, which facilitate analysis of the wider impact of economic change. They are compiled in accordance with the System of Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA), which closely follows the UN System of National Accounts (SNA). Environmental accounts measure what impacts the economy has on the environment (e.g. pollution) and how the environment contributes to the economy (e.g. use of raw materials, resource efficiency, etc.) by using the accounting framework and concepts of the national accounts. UK environmental accounts are used to inform sustainable development policy, to model impacts of fiscal or monetary measures and to evaluate the environmental impacts of different sectors of the economy. Most data are provided in units of physical measurement (mass or volume), although some are in monetary units, where this is the most relevant or the only data available.

Detailed data on fuel use by type and industry which differs from energy consumption as fuel use includes some fuels which are transformed, for example production of coke, solid smokeless fuel (SSF), benzoles, tars, coke oven gas and blast furnace gas and excludes some energy which is from other sources such as nuclear, imports, renewables and waste.

Summary of proposed domains and measures of national well-being

The UK Environmental Accounts are satellite accounts to the main UK National Accounts and facilitate environmental-economic analyses, providing statistics on the environmental impact of UK economic activity. They include natural asset accounts (e.g. oil and gas reserves, forestry, land), physical flow accounts (e.g.greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, energy consumption, consumption of raw materials) and monetary accounts (e.g. environmental taxes, environmental protection expenditure).

Acid Rain Precursor Emissions by Industry and Gas, 1990-2010

Other Pollutants by Industry and Pollutant, 1990-2010

Emissions bridging tables to UNECE and UNFCCC, 1990-2010

Energy Consumption from Renewable Sources used to Generate Heat

The United Nations World Environment Day is on the 5 June 2012. The theme this year is the Green Economy: Does it include you? This summary of UK Environmental Accounts Blue Book 2011 Update data has been released by the Office for National Statistics for this event to show how the UK Environmental Accounts provide data on how the economy impacts on the Environment. The summary includes statistics on emissions per unit of energy consumed, how this has changed over the last two decades and explains how this is the result of switching to cleaner fuels. It also provides information on the use of renewable sources for energy consumption in the UK and the amount of energy supplied per person compared to other countries. This summary is produced as part of the Measuring National Well-being programme.

The UK Environmental Accounts are satellite accounts to the main UK National Accounts and facilitate environmental-economic analyses, providing statistics on the environmental impact of UK economic activity. They include natural asset accounts (e.g. oil and gas reserves, forestry, land), physical flow accounts (e.g.greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, energy consumption, consumption of raw materials) and monetary accounts (e.g. environmental taxes, environmental protection expenditure).

This article presents experimental estimates of environmental protection expenditure by the UK public sector in the years 1996 to 2009. The article firstly discusses the concept of environmental protection expenditure and its relevance. Next, the history of environmental protection expenditure accounts in the UK Environmental Accounts, for both the public and private sector, is discussed. This includes reference to the requirements to improve the accounts set out by the UK Statistics Authority in their assessment of the UK Environmental Accounts against the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. The remainder of the article outlines work to date to deliver on these requirements, including early estimates for public sector expenditure, together with an assessment of further developments needed to deliver economy-wide environmental protection expenditure accounts in line with emerging international standards.

The UK Environmental Accounts are satellite accounts to the main UK National Accounts and facilitate environmental-economic analyses, providing statistics on the environmental impact of UK economic activity. They include natural asset accounts (for example, oil and gas reserves, forestry, land), physical flow accounts (for example, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollutants, energy consumption, consumption of raw materials) and monetary accounts (for example, environmental taxes, environmental protection expenditure).

This article summarises the user engagement plans for the UK Environmental Accounts, UK Household Satellite Accounts and UK Human Capital Accounts, as well as other outputs of the National Accounts Extensions project of the Measuring National Well-being programme. The project has a four year development programme for which engagement with users and experts, both in the UK and internationally, will be critical to delivering trusted and relevant statistics in areas such as ecosystem accounts and volunteering.

Comparison of Energy consumption per unit of economic output between 1995 and 2009 by industry.

The concept of material productivity is used to assess progress towards sustainable development. It is presented in terms of the relationship between material use and economic activity.

Environmental protection expenditure by industry. Please note that these data are not designated National Statistics and caution is advised when comparing across years. A link to further information in included within the reference table.

Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of output.

Breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions by industry and pollutant.

Breakdown of carbon fuel use by type of fuel.

Presents the atmospheric emissions and energy consumption statistics classified consistently with supply-use industries

To achieve this, new Environmental Accounts are being developed