Public Expenditure and Revenue on the Environment

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Government Finances, Economic Statistics.
Jonas Foged Svendsen
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Public Expenditure and Revenue on the Environment 2023

The statistics Public Expenditure and Revenue on the Environment are part of the green national accounts. The statistics establishes a link between public expenditure and revenue and public environmental protection activities. The statistics are used, inter alia, in relation to political decisions in the environmental field, environmental economic analyses and international comparisons of the various EU countries' environmental efforts. The statics date back to 1995.

Statistical presentation

The statistics is an annual measurement and consist of three focus areas: environmental protection, green taxes and environmental subsidies. In conjunction with a number of international classifications, these focus areas form the framework for the link between public expenditure and revenues and the public environmental protection activities. The focus areas of the statistics are also linked to a description of the public sector as a sector consisting of state, municipalities, regions and public corporations.

Statistical processing

The data sources for this statistics consist of accounts from state, municipalities, regions and public corporations that are coded for national accounts based on the manual of the European National Accounting System (ESA2010) and stored in the database DIOR (Database for Integrated Public Accounts). Based on thorough analyses, a list of criteria is drafted, which determines which account items are to be drawn from DIOR in order to compile the statistics. The selected account items are sorted and aggregated according to environmental purposes and categories, real-economic type and sector.

Relevance

The figures in these statistics are relevant, among other things, in connection with political decisions in the environmental field, environmental economic analyses and international comparisons of the individual EU countries' environmental efforts. The most obvious users of the statistics are various ministries, agencies and organizations, as well as media and research institutions. Statistics Denmark receives information about the users' needs and satisfaction via the Contact Committee for Environmental Economic Accounts and Statistics.

Accuracy and reliability

It is estimated that green taxes are the most accurate of the three main areas of the statistics, followed by environmental subsidies and environmental protection respectively. Sources of uncertainty include: misstatements in public accounts, the risk of overlooked items, the risk of incorrectly included items, the possibility of misclassification, and uncertainty regarding estimates of the environmental share of various accounts. Furthermore, the industry distribution of green taxes and environmental subsidies is based on a number of assumptions, which are also subject to uncertainty.

Timeliness and punctuality

The statistics are published annually one month after the publication of the public finance accounts. The figures follow the National Accounts audit schedule and will only be finalized three years after the end of the accounting period. The statistics are usually published without delay in relation to the time announced.

Comparability

The figures in these statistics are comparable to other statistics in several different ways. Through transmissions to Eurostat, the figures are made comparable with the other EU countries according to Regulation No 691/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on European environmental economic accounts. The figures are comparable over time, and finally the figures are comparable to other figures within the national accounting framework.

Accessibility and clarity

These statistics are published in a Danish press release. The figures can be found in the StatBank under Green Economy. In addition, these statistics feature in the Environmental-Economic Accounts.