Environmental accounting applications for Sustainable Consumption and Production policies Rocky Harris Department for Environment, UK UNCEEA New York, June 2010
Download ReportTranscript Environmental accounting applications for Sustainable Consumption and Production policies Rocky Harris Department for Environment, UK UNCEEA New York, June 2010
Environmental accounting applications for Sustainable Consumption and Production policies Rocky Harris Department for Environment, UK UNCEEA New York, June 2010 Introduction Relatively new cross-cutting policy area Four broad themes • Sustainable production and resource efficiency • Sustainable consumption and consumer behaviours • Sustainable products and sustainable materials management • Government showing leadership through sustainable operations and procurement Characterised by life-cycle perspective Sustainable production: policies targeted at different industrial sectors • Introducing regulatory and fiscal measures to reduce pollution and reduce consumption of natural resources • Encouraging sector sustainable development strategies and commitments • Providing advice to businesses about opportunities for resource efficiency, energy audits etc • Developing the environmental goods and services (EGS) sector Sustainable production: key data sources • • • • • Physical flows accounts Data on types of businesses Business attitudes and behaviours surveys Environmental expenditures and environmental taxes Environmental Goods and Services sector Sustainable production: applications • Monitoring and setting targets for the environmental performance of individual sectors • Comparing the improvements in resource efficiency claimed by Government support agencies with actual changes in efficiency in different sectors • Understanding drivers of change (structural decomposition analysis) • Estimating the incidence on different economic sectors of proposed new taxes such as the Climate Change levy • Informing the strategic targeting of the Environment Agency’s monitoring of the environmental impacts of different industrial sectors Moving production abroad accounts for about 30% of our improvements in production (non-household) CO2 emissions 800 Increase if emissions had risen in line with consumption levels 700 Dash for gas 23% Relocation of production 30% Million tonnes CO2 600 Efficiency improvements 31% Savings achieved by: 500 Switch to services 16% 400 UK production (nonhousehold) emissions total 300 200 100 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Without these savings CO2 emissions would have increased by 43% between 1992 and 2004 Sustainable consumption policies o Encouraging behaviour change is about raising awareness • • o ranges from the introduction of publicity campaigns and incorporation of discussions within the school curricula through to the imposition of mandatory metering systems Supported by policies for example to • • • restrict the availability of certain less sustainable products (‘choice editing’) reduce price differentials between sustainable and less sustainable products actions taken to provide recycling facilities and support the market for recycled goods Sustainable consumption: key data sources • Physical flow accounts, particularly if linked with household spending through the COICOP classification, can help show the proportion of environmental impacts that result from different types of household activities • Public attitudes surveys, which identify changes in behaviour which can then be linked with information on impact of those behaviours • Other household survey information for example on travel patterns and food consumption Key behaviours and impacts Behaviour goal Impact (kg/hh pa) Current take-up Insulate home 750 70% Manage energy use 530 58% Micro-generation 350 <1% Recycle waste 540 71% Waste less 600 64% Reduce water use 140 52% More efficient cars 780 27% Travel locally without car 750 29% 1,120 . 28% 140 62% 10 37% 260 6% Cut short haul flights Use energy efficient products Buy local food in season Adopt better diets Sustainable products Numbers of products in the market PRODUCT INTERVENTIONS – Overall approach Cut out the least sustainable products Interventions: •Minimum standards Less Drive the existing market towards greater sustainability Interventions: •Pricing and trading •Voluntary initiatives •Producer responsibility •Business support •Procurement •Labelling •Public information PRODUCT SUSTAINABILITY Encourage development of new, more sustainable products Interventions: • Support innovation More Sustainable products: applications • EU’s EIPRO study shows that food and drink, transport and housing products account for 70-80% of impacts • Accounts are most relevant as sources of information about the overall context of products policy • For example, the contribution of electricity use by appliances covered by integrated products policy with changes in overall electricity consumption within the home • Also used for carbon footprinting applications • Importance of emissions embedded within capital formation • How emissions from services are spread across a wide supply chain • The contribution of technological improvements in products towards climate change targets Mapping greenhouse gas emissions and the food chain UK food chain greenhouse gas emissions 100% UK production 47% Net trade 25% Pre-farm gate e.g. Fertilisers UK agriculture and fisheries Food manufacturing 3% 35% 9% Food exports -5% Overseas production Food services 5% 30% Food retail Catering 2% 3% Households 14% Food shopping 3% Cooking, storage 11% Transport 10% Road freight within UK Overseas transport 4% 6% Mapping greenhouse gas emissions from water use Direct abstractions Water supply treatment 1 mtCO2e 15,350mcm Water company admin 0.2mtCO2e Water distribution 0.6mtCO2e 3,700mcm 20,800mcm 3,600mcm Leakage 0.4mtCO2e Business 8,700mcm Business Homes ?mtCO2e 35mtCO2e Waste water collection 0.2mtCO2e Waste water treatment 2.1mtCO2e Sludge to land 1-2 mtCO2e Government showing leadership Policy activities: • Government being seen to manage its own operations in a sustainable manner and meeting its own sustainability targets • Government using its purchasing power to leverage change amongst its suppliers and ensuring the sustainability of its supply chains Two different approaches 1. 2. Top down – data from national statistics sources Bottom-up – data from government organisations CO2 emissions from UK public sector share of energy used in production (first order effect, including electricity) Share of market (%) Area of bubble indicates amount of carbon 40 Sewerage and refuse 35 Pharmaceuticals 30 Medical instruments 25 Health and social work 20 Construction 15 Land transport services 10 5 Other business services Hotels and catering 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Public sector procurement spend (£bn) 35 40 Scottish Government carbon accounting project Induced emissions from spending of wages and salaries of public sector and supply chain Government operations Household behaviours Government procurement Government policies and grants Business engagement Products policy General conclusions Environmental accounts data is generally used to provide broad strategic direction to SCP policies Strong suite of applications as far as resource efficiency is concerned Less useful for sustainable consumption policies as more disaggregated data is needed Usually not sufficiently detailed for products policy, but some useful applications for carbon footprinting On-going requirement to reconcile top-down and bottom-up data sources Structure of booklet Background to SCP Framework of SCP policies, objectives and levers Detailed consideration of policy workstreams where accounts have provided or could provide relevant information General discussion of strengths and areas where further development could improve usefulness Annexes setting out which accounts are relevant – in practice and theory – to which policy areas, and core sets of indicators Next steps Follow up with UNEP Review of material from ETC, OECD, UN DESA and other Incorporation of examples from other countries into the general structure Well-structured draft for wider comment in early Oct 2010 Completion of draft booklet for discussion by LG October 2010 and WGEIO November 2010 Points for discussion The process for development of a glossy booklet on SCP applications The general structure, style and content of such a booklet The coverage of the booklet in terms of non-standard accounts e.g. SFA The development of a core set of indicators which can be derived from the accounts and could be included as an annex The overlap between SCP applications and climate change applications, and the implications for potential booklets on other policy themes Decisions, decisions Does the UNCEEA agree that a glossy booklet of 30 to 50 pages on applications of the SEEA from the SCP policy perspective is a useful showcase for the SEEA? Does the UNCEEA agree the proposed approach to the development of such a booklet?