The framework has been released under the auspices of international organisations including the United Nations, the European Commission, and the World Bank Group.

Policy relevance and uses of the system of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA) Central Framework

The framework provides policymakers with essential data on inter-relationships between the economy and the environment. It guides the compilation of consistent and comparable statistics for policymaking, analysis and research. This data is essential to inform debates and guide policy-related to the economy and the environment. The system of environmental-economic accounting (SEEA) reflects evolving user needs, new developments in environmental-economic accounting, and advances in methodological research.

Accounting principles and structure

The SEEA Central Framework focuses on four critical areas of integration, including physical and monetary supply and use tables, asset accounts, the sequence of economic accounts, and functional accounts. The framework provides a structure for presenting comparative data across a range of variables, including employment, demographic breakdowns, measures of societal interest, and environmental pressures, states and responses.

Environmental goods and services sector (EGSS)

The EGSS categorises goods and services that have as their primary purpose the reduction or elimination of pressures on the environment or the efficient use of resources. It structures information by types of economic activity and institutional sector and facilitates the presentation of data on the economic response to environmental issues. It includes output of environmental goods and services, expenditures, and taxes and subsidies. The structure of EGSS statistics follows a format that is presented in table 4.6 of the report.

Employment, demographic, and social information

The SEEA can be enhanced by relating different environmental and economic data to estimates of employment, demographic breakdowns, and measures of societal interest. It provides the usefulness of information in various tables and accounts.

Combined physical and monetary presentations

The framework allows for combining physical and monetary data for meaningful comparisons of environmental costs with economic benefits or environmental benefits with economic costs. It presents data on a range of environmental themes like energy use, water use, household final consumption expenditure, and air emissions. By presenting quantitative data, the framework provides information to policy-makers to make more informed decisions on environmental issues.

Conclusion

The SEEA Central Framework offers policymakers and researchers a statistical framework to inform debates and guide policy on inter-relationships between the economy and the environment. The SEEA can be enhanced by relating different environmental and economic data to employment, demographic breakdowns, and measures of societal interest, and combined physical and monetary presentations can inform policy-making decisions relating to environmental issues.