Green Growth Indicators
Paul Schreyer
National Accounts Working Party
3 December 2010
Background
• Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) 2009:
GG declaration inviting the OECD to develop “a Green Growth
Strategy (GGS) in order to achieve economic recovery and
environmentally and socially sustainable economic growth”
• Main outputs for the 2011 MCM:
– GGS report
– Report on indicators
• OECD Council oversees the GGStrategy
• Additional consultations: CSTAT, WGEIO
=> Deadline for 1st round of written comments: December 6
1. Framework for GG indicators
• Green Growth?
– Pursuing economic growth and development while minimising
pressures on the quality of the environment and on the use of
natural ressources
– Harnessing the growth potential that arises from adressing
environmental concerns
• Whose growth?
– Household perspective and people’s well-being to complement
GDP and production perspective
1. Framework for GG indicators
• Production-related measures are still useful…
…. But we need to make progress with an extended
accounting framework
(introducing environmental services into the production function,
distinguishing between substitution and multifactor productivity,
bridging the GDP and alternative measures of material well-being)
• Consumption-related indicators complement the picture
– Environmental efficiency of final demand (including direct and
indirect environmental services) when looking at issues of a global
nature
– Monitoring patterns of household and government consumption
1. Framework for GG indicators
• Looking at environmental assets is needed to monitor to
what extent the asset base is being maintained (quantity,
quality, value)
• When looking at the Growth side of GG, we want to capture
growth opportunities from environmental considerations
=> 5 dimensions to monitor GG:
• 1. Environmental efficiency of production
• 2. Environmental efficiency of consumption
• 3. Natural asset base of the economy
• 4. Environmental dimension of quality of life
• 5. Society’s responses and economic opportunities
2. Links with National Accounts
• Where applicable, use of concepts of SEEA
• Key measure: CO2 embodied in imports and exports
 Presentation by Nadim Ahmad
3. Two headline indicators for
climate change
• CO2 efficiency of production
Production-based CO2 intensity =
CO 2 emissions from domestic production
Volume GDP
- Prime indicator of decoupling
- Reflective of the efficiency with which energy from fossil fuel is
used as an input in domestic production
- Representative for other environmental issues
3. Two headline indicators for
climate change
• CO2 efficiency of consumption
Demand-based CO2 intensity =
Total CO2 emissions
Re al net national disposable income
Total CO2 emissions = emissions from domestic production + emissions
embodied in imports - emissions embodied in exports
- Inform on the possible substitution of CO2 from production through
purchases abroad
- Introduce a measure of income rather than a mesure of production
for the denominator => Reflect the emission intensity of the
generation of one real dollar of income
Next steps
• Broader internal consultation at OECD
• Revision of present document
• New complete draft for GG Workshop 1011 February 2011
• Finalisation and submission to Ministerial
Meeeting end of May 2011