5 March 2013

London Group on Environmental Accounting

Purpose:

To play a leadership role in defining international best practices in the theory and practice of environmental accounting within the framework of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA). To provide a forum for the sharing of national and international expertise in this field. To assist the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental Accounting (UNCEEA) with advancing methodologies and developing statistical standards for environmental accounting. To encourage the adoption of statistical standards and best practices in the field by promoting the results of the Group's efforts via website, concepts and methods manuals, operational manuals and other means.

Year organized:

1994

Participants:

Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, European Environment Agency, Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Environment Programme, UN ECLAC, UN ESCWA, United Nations Statistics Division, the World Bank, and Global Footprint Network.

Meetings:

March 1994, London, England
March 1995, Washington, D.C., USA
May 1996, Stockholm, Sweden
June 1997, Ottawa, Canada
May 1998, Fontevraud, France
November 1999, Canberra, Australia
May 2001 Voorburg, the Netherlands
November 2003, Rome, Italy
September 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark
June 2006, New York, USA
March 2007, Pretoria, South Africa
December 2007, Rome, Italy
October 2008, Brussels, Belgium
April 2009, Canberra, Australia
November 2009, Wiesbaden, Germany
October 2010, Santiago, Chile
September 2011, Stockholm, Sweden
October 2012, Ottawa, Canada

Topics considered:

Broadly speaking, the topics covered by the Group to date include:
(a) Physical flow accounts (materials, water and energy);
(b) Asset accounts for natural resources and land;
(c) Environmental activity accounts and related flows;
(d) Ecosystem accounts;
(e) Applications and extensions of environmental accounts;
(f) Training and implementation material.

Products:

System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water (SEEAW) adopted at the thirty-eighth session of the United Nations Statistical Commission as an interim international statistical standard (see report of the UN Statistical Commission)

Revision of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting – Central Framework (SEEA - CF), adopted at the forty-third session of the United Nations Statistical Commission as an international statistical standard, February 2012

Website:

All papers and presentations discussed at the meeting as well as meeting reports are posted on the London Group website.

New activities:

• Contribute to and review training materials and compilation guidelines on SEEA;

• Contribute to the proposed SEEA Agriculture;

• Assist in the implementation and dissemination of the revised SEEA - CF;

• Contribute to the advancement of the research and testing agenda on ecosystem accounting;

• Keep abreast of and where appropriate contribute to accounting work of other city groups and international agencies;

• Initiate new research and share accounting experiences according to the interests of the group members.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place in 3rd Quarter of 2013 in London, England.

Point of contact:

Reporting to the UN Statistical Commission

• Report of 2012
• Report of 2011
• Report of 2009
• Report of 2008
• Report of 2007
• Report of 2004