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ENVIRONMENT STATISTICS

OBJECTIVES

The Environment Statistics program contributes to meeting the demand for comprehensive and coordinated information about Australia's environment, focusing on key themes such as water, energy, ecosystems and land management. The complex interrelationships between the environment, society and the economy require integrated information, which is a key focus of the program.

The program actively engages with partners to understand information needs and coordinate the development of statistics from the wide range of data available in this field.

Use of environment statistics is varied and includes the formulation of policies, economic analysis, research, forecasting and meeting international reporting obligations. Clients of the program include: the Australian Government departments of Environment; Agriculture; Industry and Science; Innovation; and the Department of the Treasury; Australian Government agencies such as the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences; the Murray Darling Basin Authority; the Bureau of Meteorology; the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and Geoscience Australia; state and territory government departments with environment or energy responsibilities; academic and research organisations; environmental groups; businesses; and individuals.

OUTPUTS

The main outputs of the program are:

• Australian Environmental - Economic Accounts (cat. no. 4655.0)
• Energy Account, Australia (cat. no. 4604.0)
• Water Account, Australia (cat. no. 4610.0)
• Land Account: Great Barrier Reef Region, Experimental Estimates (cat. no. 4609.0.55.001)
• Land Account: Victoria, Experimental Estimates (cat. no. 4609.0.55.002)
• Land Account: Queensland, Experimental Estimates (cat. no. 4609.0.55.003)
• continued collaboration for development of the remaining volumes of the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounts (SEEA), which brings environmental and economic information together within a common framework
• production of information and discussion papers on the development of experimental accounts using the SEEA framework
• production of Employment in Renewable Energy Activities, Australia (cat. no. 4631.0) (funded by the Renewable Energy Agency).

• improve the quality and depth of detail of existing water and energy accounts - ongoing
• work with key stakeholders to demonstrate applications of SEEA and promote its use as a framework for integration of socioeconomic and environmental information to inform policy development and decision making - ongoing
• investigate, and seek funding for, expansion of the environmental accounting program that could encompass regular ecosystems, environmental expenditure, environmental goods and services and environment industry accounts - ongoing
• collaborate with other government agencies around environmental information initiatives such as the National Plan for Environmental Information, National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Outlook Report, and the National Waste Report - ongoing
• provide statistical support and training to Asia and the Pacific region on the implementation of the SEEA (funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) - ongoing.