Regulation 2011/691 - European environmental economic accounts - Main contents

Summary of Legislation
Legislative text

1. Summary of Legislation

European environmental economic accounts

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

The goal of this regulation is to make it easier to compare environmental economic accounts across EU countries, calling on environment-related data that is understandable and accessible.

KEY POINTS

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Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 sets up a European Union (EU) legal framework for compiling harmonised European environmental economic accounts.
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Its modules covered national statistics on air emissions accounts, environmental taxes and material flows accounts (the contribution to the economy of raw materials, minerals and biomass, etc.).
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In 2014, an amending regulation (Regulation (EU) No 538/2014) further built on the original 2011 regulation on European environmental economic accounts by introducing 3 extra modules:
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  environmental protection expenditureaccounts (the economic resources set aside for environmental protection);
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  environmental goods and services sector accounts (a country’s production activities that create environmental goods and services);
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  energy accounts (reports on physical energy flows such as electricity, expressed in terajoules, into/within an economy and the outputs to other economies/the environment).

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These 3 new modules contribute directly to the EU’s policy priorities of green growth and resource efficiency. More specifically, they provide important information on indicators such as:
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  market output and jobs in the environmental goods and services sector;
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  national environmental protection expenditure;
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  the use of energy in a detailed breakdown by standardised category.

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The regulation states that EU countries can implement the new modules without being obliged to collect new data.
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The new modules are fully in line with the revised European strategy for environmental accounting (ESEA 2008), which analysed the policy needs and statistical possibilities for environmental accounts and proposed areas for development, and the United Nations’ System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA).

Delegated acts

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To take into account technical and scientific progress and expand on the energy accounts, this regulation authorises the European Commission to adopt laws (delegated acts) covering 3 kinds of energy products:
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  natural inputs (physical flows from the environment into the economy, e.g. non-renewable and renewable energy);
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  products (goods and services produced);
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  residuals (flows of solid, liquid and gaseous materials, and energy, that are discarded, discharged or emitted to the environment).

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The Commission must consult with others before drawing up any such law.
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To ensure efficient environmental goods and services sector accounts the Commission must use other laws (implementing acts) to establish an indicative compendium of:
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  environmental goods and services;
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  economic activities in several environmental categories.

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Environmental accounts show the links between the environment and economy, both positive and negative. They provide an integrated framework of statistics and analysis to guide European policy in resource efficiency, sustainable development and green growth.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 11 August 2011.

BACKGROUND

2. Legislative text

Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 on European environmental economic accounts Text with EEA relevance

Contents

1.

Summary of Legislation

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Legislative text