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Environmental protection expenditure accounts (env_ac_epea)

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National Reference Metadata in Single Integrated Metadata Structure (SIMS)

Compiling agency: Statistical Organizaction of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS).

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Environmental protection expenditure accounts (EPEA) describe transactions related to preventing, reducing and eliminating pollution and any other degradation of the environment. The main aggregate resulting from EPEA is national expenditure on environmental protection (NEEP), which measures the resources dedicated by resident businesses, households and government to protecting the natural environment. This aggregate covers uses of environmental protection services, investment (gross fixed capital formation) for environmental protection activities, and net transfers to the rest of the world for environmental protection. Countries are required to report on:   output, consumption, imports and exports of environmental protection services,  investment (gross fixed capital formation and acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets) for the production of EP services, transfers for environmental protection.

24 December 2024

The construction of the EPEA closely follows the concepts, definitions and accounting rules of the core national accounts. The SEEA-CF 2012 (section 4.2) identifies environmental protection activities as those activities whose primary purpose is the prevention, reduction and elimination of pollution and other forms of degradation of the environment. These activities include, but are not limited to, the prevention, reduction or treatment of waste and wastewater; the prevention, reduction or elimination of air emissions; the treatment and disposal of contaminated soil and groundwater; the prevention or reduction of noise and vibration levels; the protection of biodiversity and landscapes, including of their ecological functions; monitoring of the quality of the natural environment (air, water, soil and groundwater); research and development on environmental protection; and the general administration, training and teaching activities oriented towards environmental protection.proposes to use the primary purpose criterion, recognising that many economic activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes, environmental and non-environmental ones.

Environmental protection expenditure accounts present data, in a way that is compatible with the data reported under ESA, on the expenditure for environmental protection, i.e. the economic resources devoted by resident units to environmental protection. EPEA use statistical units from national accounts. National accounts define and use various statistical units and groupings of units that interact economically (see ESA 2010, §§ 1.54-1.56, 2.01-2.03).

The statistical population is the national economy as defined in SEEA CF 2012 and the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). It includes all economic activities undertaken by resident units to produce environmental protection specific services. While some economic activities may be undertaken only for a single purpose, many activities are undertaken for a variety of purposes. Following general principles of classification, activities are deemed to be environmental activities only if the primary purpose of the activity is consistent with the definitions of the environmental protection.

The reference area is the economic territory as defined in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). A unit is said to be a resident unit of a country when it has its centre of economic interest in the economic territory of that country, that is, when it engages for an extended period (1 year or more) in economic activities in that territory.

The reference period for EPEA data is the calendar year.

All data used for EPEA compilation are checked before use.

Macro economic variables (output, intermediate consumption, investment etc.) are measured in million units of national currency.

Not applicable. 

For composing  Table S13_15 , we used data from national accounts. Mostly we used data on general government expenditure by function (COFOG 05) (Table 11 of the ESA transmission programme), which include consolidated data from financial budgets and accounts. We also analysed financial budgets and accounts for some detailed data. We obtain detailed data on consumption of fixed capital and market output from our COFOG specialists as also data for Transfers. For Table S11_S12 we use data from survey on environmental protection expenditure (OKI).  Some data that are not gathered with survey we get from SUT. For Table S14 data from SUT are used for import and export. For final consumption of households we separated total expenditure from SUT to expenditure on refuse collection and sewage collection on the basis of the relation between their average on individual expenditures from the Household Budget Survey. 

Data are disseminated annually.

The first results are available at the same time as the final results that is 22 months after the reference period. When the data are ready we publish them on the website with first release and detailed data in the SI-STAT database.

Data on EPEA are compiled according to harmonised guidelines provided by Eurostat and hence comparable across European countries reporting EPEA data to Eurostat.

All data are comparable.