oecd work on the green growth indicators database
DESCRIPTION
“Green and growth go very well together. Green growth means we go for growth, but we preserve and we actually enhance the endowment of natural resources that we were provided with, and which today are sustaining the economic activity on our planet.” The OECD Green Growth Indicators chart the progress that countries make in four areas, in relation to the socioeconomic context, economic growth and demographic trends.TRANSCRIPT
THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORSDATABASE
OECD WORK ON
THE GREEN GROWTH
INDICATORS DATABASE
OECD WORK ON
“Green and growth go very well together.
Green growth means we go for growth,
but we preserve and we actually enhance
the endowment of natural resources that
we were provided with, and which today
are sustaining the economic activity on
our planet.” Ángel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General
Watch the video: http://youtu.be/E63xH4D-k1U
What’s new in 2015 ?
The OECD Green Growth Indicators chart the progress
that countries make in four areas, in relation to the socio-
economic context, economic growth and demographic
trends.
These indicators are constantly being updated, refined,
improved, through regular application, new research and
international collaboration.
They are freely accessible on the OECD.Stat database.
www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htm
Patent data are useful to measure the results of
innovation policies. How many patents are actually
registered? By whom? How much do researchers
collaborate across countries? How well are technologies
disseminated and legally protected in foreign markets ?
To measure this output of environmental innovation, the
OECD published a new set of green patent indicators in
March 2015. This set refines the patent indicators used
until that date.
4 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
Green growth indicators The OECD designed the Green Growth Indicators to help countries assess and compare their progress.
The measurement framework combines the main features of green growth with the basic principles of accounting and the pressure-state-response model. 25 to 30 indicators were identified, under four main headings:
Environmental and resource productivity
The natural asset base
The environmental dimension of quality of life
Economic opportunities and policy responses
Indicators that describe the socio-economic context and the characteristics of growth complete the picture.
1
2
3
4
Green Growth Indicators development requires progress on two fronts: methodological development and addressing data gaps. National statistics agencies have an important role to play here.
Conceptual development of Green Growth Indicators continues, including for six headline indicators:
Carbon productivity
Non-energy material productivity
Environmentally-adjusted, whole-economy (multi-factor) productivity
Natural resource index
Land cover and use
Population exposure to air pollution (PM2.5)
labour
energy and raw materialswater, land, biomass, air
pollution and waste
inputs outputs CONSUMPTION
capital
INVESTMENTS
income
goods & services
NATURAL ASSET BASE
amenities, health
2
3
PRODUCTION
+ Recyclingre-use,
remanufacturing, substitution
1
ECONOMIC AC TIV IT IES : PRODUC TION, CONSUMPTION, TRADE
residualsresources
resource functions
sink functions
servicefunctions
POLICIES measures,
opportunities
taxessubsidies
regulations
investmentinnovation
education, training, jobs, trade
4
adapted from OECD (2014), Green Growth Indicators,
http://doi.org/4f6Icons from Thenounproject.com: Wilson Joseph, Jeremy Minnick, Sandor Szabo, Shrihari
Sankaran, Laurent Patain, Filipos Trineiros, Gabriele Malaspina, Maximilian Becker, Bjorn Wisnewski, Natalia Bourges, Saman Bemel Benrud, Dave Tappy, Rafa Bosch, Arthur Shlain.
GREEN GROW TH INDICATORS FRAME WORK
6 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
1Environmental and resource productivity
How productive is the economy in using natural capital?
These indicators monitor the efficient use of natural capital in the economy. They capture aspects of production which are rarely quantified in economic models and accounting frameworks. Currently, the database includes:
• CO2 productivity. What are the results of policies promoting low carbon technologies and cleaner energy? GDP growth or real income are related to production- and demand-based CO2 emissions.
• Energy productivity. How much energy is necessary to generate one unit of GDP? What is the share of renewables in energy supply?
• Material productivity. How much materials are consumed to produce one unit of GDP?
WORK IN PROGRESS:
• Nutrient flows and balances
• Water productivity by sector
• Multifactor productivity reflecting environmental services
OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE . 7
A detailed, interactive version of this graph is available on www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htm Complete database and metadata: stats.oecd.org (> Environment > Green growth)
Figure 1. Decoupling CO2 emissions from economic growth
Relative decoupling (GDP increased faster than CO2 emissions)
Absolute decoupling (GDP increased, CO2 emissions decreased)
8 . OECD WORK ON GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS
2Natural asset base
Are we preserving the natural asset base of our economy?
Natural resources are a major foundation of economic activity and human welfare. They provide materials and ecosystem services that are necessary to develop human, social and produced capital. A declining natural asset base is a risk to economic growth and to the well-being of current and future generations. Currently, the database includes:
• Water. Are water resources used efficiently? How do countries use water relative to their population or resources?
• Land use. What shares of the total land area are dedicated to agriculture, pastures and meadows, forest?
• Wildlife. How many animal and plant species are threatened?
WORK IN PROGRESS:
• Energy and mineral resources
• Changes and conversions in land cover and use
• Natural resource index
8 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
Figure 2. Water stress Total freshwater abstraction as % total available renewable resources (bars) and as % total internal renewable resources (symbols) in 2012 or latest available year.
low
w
ate
r
str
es
s
mo
der
ate
wate
r s
tres
s
med
ium
- h
igh
str
es
sh
igh s
tres
s
* No recent data available for freshwater abstraction as % available renewable resources in Israel. A detailed, interactive version of this graph is available on www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htm Complete database and metadata: stats.oecd.org (> Environment > Green growth)
// 72% // 103% // 67%
OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE . 9
10 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
3Environmental quality of life
How does environmental quality interact with people’s health and lives?
Production and income growth may not always be accompanied by a rise in well-being. A degraded environment can incur health problems and costs, lower labour productivity, impair ecosystem functions and generally lower the quality of life. Currently, the database includes:
• Access to sewage treatment. What share of the population is connected to sewerage with primary (mechanical), secondary (biological), tertiary (chemical) treatment?
WORK IN PROGRESS:
• Population exposure to air pollution such as fine particulates (PM10 and PM2.5) and ozone (O3)
• Access to environmental amenities such as green spaces, recreation areas and public transport.
OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE . 11
Figure 3. Access to sewage treatment Population connected to a public sewage treatment plant in 2013 or latest available year
A detailed, interactive version of this graph is available on www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htmComplete database and metadata: stats.oecd.org (> Environment > Green growth)
% population connected to sewerage
with primary treatment with secondary treatment with tertiary treatment
12 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
4Economic opportunities and policy responsesAre policies effective in delivering green growth?
Are countries putting in place the right policies and measures to catalyse the investments needed for a greener growth? Currently, the database includes:
• R&D. What share of the government’s budget, or of the GDP, goes to research and development? And what share is directed at energy or the environment?
• Patents. How many patents are registered in each environmental sector? How many are protected in foreign countries? How much do researchers collaborate internationally?
• Development assistance. What share of official development assistance is in favour of green growth?
• Taxes. What share of total tax revenue is raised through environmentally related taxes? How much applies to energy or road transport?
WORK IN PROGRESS:
• Environmentally related expenditure
• Environmentally related subsidies
• Environmental policy stringency and design
• Carbon market financing
OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE . 13
Figure 4. Bending innovation towards greener technologies Growth in patenting in all technologies compared to environmental technologies
A detailed, interactive version of this graph is available on www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htm Complete database and metadata: stats.oecd.org (> Environment > Green growth)
OECD
Slovenia
France
MexicoJapan
Brazil
United States
Note: Based on counts of high-value inventions (patent families of size two or greater) classified by the country of residence of the inventor.
“Green” and “growth” must go hand-in-hand.
In 2009, OECD ministers asked the OECD to develop a Green Growth Strategy to help the governments of OECD countries and partner economies alike achieve economic recovery, along with environmentally and socially sustainable growth.
The 2011 Green Growth Strategy responded to this mandate: it sets a framework for governments to foster economic growth and development, while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services vital to human well-being.
It recognises that risks to growth continue to rise as traditional growth models negatively affect the physical environment that ultimately underpins human well-being.
In addition to the need for greater productivity growth, a growth agenda must take account of the consequences of productivity growth for the supporting physical environment. The need to ensure that growth is inclusive is a further pillar for growth.
Structural reforms can unlock new growth engines by:
• Enhancing productivity by creating incentives for greater efficiency in the use of natural resources, reducing waste and energy consumption, unlocking opportunities for innovation and value creation, and allocating resources to the highest value use.
• Boosting investor confidence through greater predictability in how governments deal with major environmental issues.
• Opening up new markets by stimulating demand for green goods, services and technologies.
• Contributing to fiscal consolidation by mobilising revenues through green taxes and the elimination of environmentally harmful subsidies, which can help free up resources for anti-poverty programmes.
• Reducing risks of negative shocks to growth due to resource bottlenecks, as well as damaging and potentially irreversible environmental impacts.
14 . OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE
What is green growth?
THE ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT
The Organisation for Economic
Co‑operation and Development (OECD)
is a multi‑disciplinary inter‑governmental
organisation, tracing its roots back to the
post‑World War II Marshall Plan. Today, it
comprises 34 member countries that are
committed to democratic government and
the market economy and the European
Commission, with the major emerging
economies increasingly engaged directly
in the work. The OECD provides a unique
forum and the analytical capacity to assist
governments to compare and exchange
policy experiences, and to identify and
promote good practices through policy
decisions and recommendations.
OECD WORK ON THE GREEN GROWTH INDICATORS DATABASE . 15
Key publications
Towards Green Growth? Tracking progressJuly 2015Key Findings and Recommendations already available on http://bit.ly/1e8aNmI
Green Growth IndicatorsJanuary 2014 - http://doi.org/4f6
www.oecd.org/greengrowth/ greengrowthindicators.htm
www.oecd.org/greengrowth/greengrowthindicators.htm
OECD Environment Directorate
Graphic Credits
Photos. Cover © Nikada/Shutterstock. P. 2: Eloi Omella/iStock. P. 4: Jan Miko/iStock. P. 6: Card76/iStock. P.8: ApuuliWorld/iStock. P. 10: Greg da Silva/DreamstimeIcons by Lokaalwerk and from Thenounproject.com: Wilson Joseph, Jeremy Minnick, Sandor Szabo, Shrihari Sankaran, Laurent Patain, Filipos Trineiros, Gabriele Malaspina, Maximilian Becker, Bjorn Wisnewski, Natalia Bourges, Saman Bemel Benrud, Dave Tappy, Rafa Bosch, Arthur Shlain, Jens Windolf.
2015