Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe

Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe PDF Author: Jan-Erik Petersen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789294800619
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Get Book Here

Book Description
Maintaining 'natural capital', i.e. ecosystems and the services they provide, is fundamental to human economic activity and well-being. The need to conserve and enhance natural capital is therefore an explicit policy target in the EU's Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and its Seventh Environment Action Programme. Approaches to measuring the stocks of natural resources that yield benefits as natural capital have gained considerable traction in recent decades. By providing regular, objective data that are consistent with wider statistical data, natural capital accounting can provide the fundamental evidence base required for informing economic and environmental decision making that delivers on these ambitions for natural capital. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is the statistical framework for compiling natural capital accounts. The SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is the part of the SEEA that provides the framework for ecosystem accounting. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has been a key contributor to developing the SEEA-EEA. The EEA is now working with Eurostat, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the European Commission Directorates General for the Environment (DG ENV) and Research and Innovation (DG RTD) to test the application of the SEEA-EEA in the EU (via the Knowledge innovation project on an integrated system for natural capital and ecosystem services accounting in the EU (KIP INCA)). This report presents the EEA's work on natural capital accounting, discusses the use of natural capital accounts in support of policymaking and reflects on the intrinsic value of biodiversity, which cannot only be measured in monetary terms.

Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe

Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe PDF Author: Jan-Erik Petersen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789294800619
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Get Book Here

Book Description
Maintaining 'natural capital', i.e. ecosystems and the services they provide, is fundamental to human economic activity and well-being. The need to conserve and enhance natural capital is therefore an explicit policy target in the EU's Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and its Seventh Environment Action Programme. Approaches to measuring the stocks of natural resources that yield benefits as natural capital have gained considerable traction in recent decades. By providing regular, objective data that are consistent with wider statistical data, natural capital accounting can provide the fundamental evidence base required for informing economic and environmental decision making that delivers on these ambitions for natural capital. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is the statistical framework for compiling natural capital accounts. The SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is the part of the SEEA that provides the framework for ecosystem accounting. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has been a key contributor to developing the SEEA-EEA. The EEA is now working with Eurostat, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the European Commission Directorates General for the Environment (DG ENV) and Research and Innovation (DG RTD) to test the application of the SEEA-EEA in the EU (via the Knowledge innovation project on an integrated system for natural capital and ecosystem services accounting in the EU (KIP INCA)). This report presents the EEA's work on natural capital accounting, discusses the use of natural capital accounts in support of policymaking and reflects on the intrinsic value of biodiversity, which cannot only be measured in monetary terms.

Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe

Natural Capital Accounting in Support of Policymaking in Europe PDF Author: Jan-Erik Petersen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789294800602
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 92

Get Book Here

Book Description
Maintaining 'natural capital', i.e. ecosystems and the services they provide, is fundamental to human economic activity and well-being. The need to conserve and enhance natural capital is therefore an explicit policy target in the EU's Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 and its Seventh Environment Action Programme. Approaches to measuring the stocks of natural resources that yield benefits as natural capital have gained considerable traction in recent decades. By providing regular, objective data that are consistent with wider statistical data, natural capital accounting can provide the fundamental evidence base required for informing economic and environmental decision making that delivers on these ambitions for natural capital. The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is the statistical framework for compiling natural capital accounts. The SEEA Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is the part of the SEEA that provides the framework for ecosystem accounting. The European Environment Agency (EEA) has been a key contributor to developing the SEEA-EEA. The EEA is now working with Eurostat, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and the European Commission Directorates General for the Environment (DG ENV) and Research and Innovation (DG RTD) to test the application of the SEEA-EEA in the EU (via the Knowledge innovation project on an integrated system for natural capital and ecosystem services accounting in the EU (KIP INCA)). This report presents the EEA's work on natural capital accounting, discusses the use of natural capital accounts in support of policymaking and reflects on the intrinsic value of biodiversity, which cannot only be measured in monetary terms.

How Natural Capital Accounting Contributes to Integrated Policies for Sustainability

How Natural Capital Accounting Contributes to Integrated Policies for Sustainability PDF Author: United Nations
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789212591544
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 62

Get Book Here

Book Description
This publication is aimed at providing policymakers with an introduction to natural capital accounting, in particular the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), and its applications to policy. The report provides policymakers at various levels including international organizations, national government as well as local authorities, with information on how the SEEA can answer a variety of policy questions on sustainable development, using an integrated systems approach. This paper provides several successful case studies that are aimed to inspire policymakers in applying the SEEA to inform their specific challenges.

Mapping Ecosystem Services

Mapping Ecosystem Services PDF Author: Benjamin Burkhard
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789546428523
Category : Ecological mapping
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
"The new book Mapping Ecosystem Services provides a comprehensive collection of theories, methods and practical applications of ecosystem services (ES) mapping, for the first time bringing together valuable knowledge and techniques from leading international experts in the field." (www.eurekalert.org).

How Natural Capital Accounting Contributes to Integrated Policies for Sustainability

How Natural Capital Accounting Contributes to Integrated Policies for Sustainability PDF Author: Rutger Hoekstra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789210052504
Category : Environmental auditing
Languages : en
Pages : 62

Get Book Here

Book Description
"This publication is aimed at providing policymakers with an introduction to natural capital accounting, in particular the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), and its applications to policy. The report provides policymakers at various levels including international organizations, national government as well as local authorities, with information on how the SEEA can answer a variety of policy questions on sustainable development, using an integrated systems approach. This paper provides several successful case studies that are aimed to inspire policymakers in applying the SEEA to inform their specific challenges."--Publisher's description.

Sustainable Bioeconomy

Sustainable Bioeconomy PDF Author: V. Venkatramanan
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811573212
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
Sustainable development is the most important challenge facing humanity in the 21st century. The global economic growth in the recent past has indeed exhibited marked progress in many countries. Nevertheless, the issues of income disparity, poverty, gender gaps, and malnutrition are not uncommon in the global landscape, in spite of the upward growth of the economy and technological advances. This grim picture is further exacerbated by our growing human population, unmindful resource use, ever-increasing consumption trends, and changing climate. In order to protect humanity and preserve the planet, the United Nations issued the “2030 agenda for sustainable development,” which includes but is not limited to sustainable production and consumption practices, e.g. in a sustainable bioeconomy. The hallmark of the sustainable bioeconomy is a paradigm shift from a fossil-fuel-based economy to a biological-based one, which is driven by the virtues of sustainability, efficient utilization of resources, and “circular economy.” As the sustainable bioeconomy is based on the efficient utilization of biological resources and societal transformations, it holds the immense potential to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This book shares valuable insights into the linkages between the sustainable bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Goals, making it an essential read for policymakers, researchers and students of environmental studies.

An Experimental Framework for Ecosystem Capital Accounting in Europe

An Experimental Framework for Ecosystem Capital Accounting in Europe PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789292132330
Category : Ecosystem
Languages : en
Pages : 43

Get Book Here

Book Description
Ecosystem accounts are being developed as part of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts which aims at supplementing the UN System of National Accounts with information on the environment and natural capital. The purpose is to broaden the scope of the variables taken into account in policymaking in order to improve understanding of the interdependence and interactions between the economy and the environment. Ultimately, these ecosystem accounts will yield new indicators and aggregates expressed in physical and monetary units that will be made available to policymakers and analysts to assess the efficiency of natural resource use, the pattern of economic growth, the contribution of nature and its use within and outside the market, the short- and longer-term constraints resulting from the need to maintain living and other renewable capital, and the related benefits and costs.^^At the end of 2009, the European Environment Agency launched an experimental project to implement simplified ecosystem capital accounts for Europe as a 'fast-track' initiative, based on the use of existing data and statistics. In addition to feasibility assessment, the project aims at framing ecosystem accounts and identifying which indicators and aggregates could be delivered and integrated into enlarged national accounts. Based on the project findings, an overall framework for ecosystem capital accounting has been designed. It highlights accounting balances and relationships between accounting tables and systems as well as key indicators and aggregates that describe economy ecosystem interactions.^The indicators and aggregates include : the ecosystem resource accessible surplus (which shows the level of resources that can be used without jeopardising ecosystem reproduction functions) ; the demand for (accessible) ecosystem services per capita, which is a measure of ecosystem contribution to well-being ; the total ecosystem capital potential, defined as the biomass accessible under the constraints of maintaining accessibility to water, green landscape infrastructure and biodiversity (and measured in a 'numeraire' referred to as the Ecosystem Potential Unit Equivalent) ; the Ecosystem Capital Degradation (ECD) which describes domestic ecosystem overuse ; Consumption of Ecosystem Capital (CEC, the ecosystem capital depreciation in SNA terminology), calculated as (physical) ECD valued by remediation costs ; and the equivalent ECD embedded in imports and exports for commodities produced in unsustainable conditions.^As a next stage it is proposed to use CEC to adjust National Accounts aggregates : CEC Adjusted Net Domestic Product or CEC Adjusted Net National Income, Final Consumption at Full Cost (including non paid CEC), Imports and Exports at Full Cost. Using this approach, two balance sheets of assets and liabilities are ultimately established, one in physical units, the other in terms of money. The balance sheets of financial liabilities allow, amongst other things, a record to be kept of the amount of ecological debt first in physical units regarding physical degradation and second in monetary units to balance the non-paid consumption of ecosystem capital. Last but not least, recording ecological debts makes it possible to keep the conventional GDP unchanged while supplementing it with appropriate adjusted aggregates.

Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Macroeconomic Strategies

Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Macroeconomic Strategies PDF Author: United Nations
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789212591551
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 54

Get Book Here

Book Description
This publication shows how natural capital accounting, in particular the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), can be used to answer a variety of policy questions on sustainable macroeconomic strategies. This report is aimed at macroeconomic policymakers at various levels, including international organizations and national governments, especially central banks and finance ministries. The report provides several successful examples that are aimed to inspired policymakers in applying the SEEA to inform strategies that ensure sustainable and green long-term growth.

Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Macroeconomic Strategies

Natural Capital Accounting for Sustainable Macroeconomic Strategies PDF Author: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789210052511
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 107

Get Book Here

Book Description
This publication shows how natural capital accounting, in particular the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), can be used to answer a variety of policy questions on sustainable macroeconomic strategies. This report is aimed at macroeconomic policymakers at various levels, including international organizations and national governments, especially central banks and finance ministries. The report provides several successful examples that are aimed to inspired policymakers in applying the SEEA to inform strategies that ensure sustainable and green long-term growth.

Valuing Natural Capital

Valuing Natural Capital PDF Author: Dorothy Maxwell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781351274241
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages :

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Companies that will succeed in the long-term are integrating natural and social capital into their business model now.Natural capital, the resources and critical support services nature provides, underpins our entire global economy. Yet despite its vast social and economic value, the many benefits of natural capital are often assumed to be "free".The future shock for business is the potential for profit to be wiped out as natural capital is internalized through regulation and markets. Freshwater, forests and biodiversity are being consumed at an alarming rate, and critical support systems such as the ability to regulate climate are failing.As these and other sustainability challenges develop, businesses and their investors need to understand their role in maintaining natural capital and their natural capital risks and opportunities. The language of finance provides a useful approach for communicating trade-offs and prioritizing sustainability at CFO, CEO and board level: companies who "future-proof" now will position themselves to thrive in a resource-constrained world. They will mitigate risk, secure their resource supplies, create long-term value and enhance their resilience, reputation and competitive advantage.This book provides a succinct introduction to natural capital: what natural capital is and how it links to other capitals; the business case for using it in decision-making; where natural capital accounting and valuation fit in the sustainability and financial toolbox; and what real life early adopters of natural capital in business are doing.Views from natural capital leaders across business, finance, accounting, government, research and NGO communities illustrate the theory with practice. Included: Quotes and case examples from CFOs, CEOs and Heads of Sustainability in early adopter businesses (Kingfisher Group, Dow Chemical Company, The Crown Estate, Patagonia®, United Utilities and Marks & Spencer) and financial institutions (Inter-American Development Bank, Citi Group and Credit Suisse)."--Provided by publisher.