INTRODUCTION
The Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts represents the culmination of efforts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to develop, implement and regularly produce a set of environmental-economic accounts (‘environmental accounts’).
The ABS currently produces a range of separate environmental accounts for water, energy, waste, land, and environmental assets as part of the national balance sheet. This publication brings together the ABS environmental accounts in one place to deliver a more complete picture of the interactions of the environment with the economy and society of Australia. From time to time special articles will be included to highlight developments in the theory and practice of environmental accounting. Going forward, the range of information included in the Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts is expected to expand to cover a wider range of accounts, not necessarily limited to ABS accounting products.
The Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts are underpinned by the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA), which was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission as an international statistical standard in 2012. An important feature of the SEEA is that it links environmental information to the System of National Accounts (SNA), which provides the concepts and methods for much of the official economic statistics produced around the world. In late 2013 the Bureau of Meteorology recommended adoption in Australia of the SEEA in the Guide to Environmental Accounting in Australia.
The Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts represents a work in progress. Over time, and as resources allow, the accounts will be improved and extended. This may involve, for example, including more types of accounts (e.g. environmental protection expenditure, water and air pollution), providing greater levels of geographic detail, valuation of additional environmental assets (e.g. water, fish) and/or more detailed industry breakdowns. The ABS welcomes feedback on the current edition of Australian Environmental-Economic Accounts and on the priorities for improvement and expansion of this publication.
For further information on this publication, please contact:
Michael Vardon
Director
Centre of Environment Statistics
Australian Bureau of Statistics
michael.vardon@abs.gov.au or 02 6252 7348
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