Wiedmann, T., Wilting, H., Lutter, S., Palm, V., Giljum, S., Wadeskog, A., Nijdam, D. (2009)
Final Report of the SKEP ERA-NET Project EIPOT. Environment Agency UK
In 2008, the SKEP (Scientific Knowledge for Environmental Protection) network commissioned research to develop a suitable methodology to assess transnational environmental impacts through international trade, which led to the establishment of the EIPOT project (environmental impacts of trade). The project was carried out between April 2008 and May 2009 by a consortium of four European research institutions: Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York (project coordinator), Sustainable Europe Research Institute in Vienna, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency in Bilthoven and Statistics Sweden in Stockholm.
The project aimed to:
• review and evaluate existing environmental accounting techniques that can be used to illustrate transnational impacts of traded goods and services;
• specify the (theoretical) framework and criteria for environmental accounting methodologies to assess the environmental impacts of imported and exported goods and services;
• identify the most suitable methodology and expand it into an accounting approach which can be used by all SKEP member states;
• identify data requirements and possible data sources for the recommended method;
• elaborate the roles of different regulatory authorities in providing the required data and advice on the practical implementation of the methodology.
During the project, it became clear that a) given the variety of possible research and policy questions to be answered, it would not be appropriate to stipulate one single method but rather put forward a flexible range of compatible methods and b) as a consequence, the focus should be on the developments needed in data and organisational roles. The EIPOT project report will be of interest and use to the SKEP network, national ministries and agencies, national statistical offices (NSO), the European Commission (EC) and Eurostat as well as academia.
In the EIPOT project, an evaluation approach called RACER was adapted for the purposes of the project. RACER is used by the European Commission Directorate General Environment to assess the suitability of methods and indicators for policy-oriented applications. On the basis of assessments carried out here, EIPOT makes recommendations for setting up a method able to fulfil the project’s aim of assessing transnational environmental impacts of traded goods and products. The suggested way forward is a methodology incorporating elements of different tools which have proven to be successful, and identification of future needs in order to develop an effective and applicable tool, rather than focussing on one approach and its further development.
The relevance and suitability of any methodology always depends on the particular research or policy question that needs to be answered. The report looked at five policy dimensions – economic, environmental pressure/impact, geography, time, and life cycle stage – in order to understand the specific requirements for the methodology. The primary focus of the EIPOT project was on trade flows between different economies and production sectors within them, rather than on individual traded products.
The report suggests that an ideal basis for a suitable EIPOT methodology would be an environmentally extended multi-region input-output (EE-MRIO) framework closely connected to the System of Economic and Environmental Accounts (SEEA).
The main elements of this accounting framework should include the following:
• monetary input-output tables of all EU countries plus an equal number of EU trading partners in a resolution of more than 100 economic sectors;
• detailed, bilateral trade datasets for goods and services in monetary (and possibly physical) units;
• complete tables of environmental accounts, further disaggregated with process analysis and LCA data, for a number of environmental extensions: emissions, material flows, energy use, land use, water use, air emissions, waste production, bioproductivity, biodiversity and other impact categories;
• For specific policy and research questions, data from process analysis and life cycle analysis (LCA) can be incorporated into hybrid approaches and/or to enumerate specific processes (such as international transportation or waste management practices).
The EIPOT project has not focused on one single method but on identifying a framework consisting of best-suited elements from different existing approaches, as such, the project outcome should be very useful for the task of assessing transnational environmental impacts through international trade. Not only does the project deliver a comprehensive review and evaluation of existing approaches but it also provides detailed elaborations on necessary future procedural steps regarding research needs, risks, and other related issues. Hence, the EIPOT project should be seen as an important step on the way towards a homogeneous and widely applied accounting method which will lead to more effective and target-oriented environmental policies.
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