Work Package 5

IMEA - Imports in  Environmental Accounting

Consortium members
  • ARMINES (France) coordinator
  • TNO (Netherlands)
  • VITO (Belgium)
  • University of Oulo (Finland)
  • IFF (Austria)
Brief overview of the project

Environmental Accounting Methodologies (EAM) aim at a quantitative assessment of the environmental issues related to existing production and consumption practices. EAM are currently explored by official agencies (statistical or environmental national offices) for their integration into existing quantitative frameworks for supporting policy-making. Currently assessed uses go from macro-economic assessments (one variable for the whole country) to micro-analysis of the products and services consumed.

One of the key questions of EAM is their ability to deal with trans-national issues, i.e. how they deal with exchanges of goods and services (imports-exports) as well as transfer of environmental issues, e.g. air transfer of pollutants

IMEA aims at reviewing existing environmental accounting methodologies based on a comprehensive analytical framework to provide guidelines for future methodological and data research needs related to the assessment of imports.

Outputs
  • A coherent framework and guidelines for an integrated methodology for assessing the environmental burden of imports. The framework will consider strengths and weaknesses of each methodology, its recommended field of applications (product and country coverage) and the existing quality and availability of data to determine the potential role of each approach. It will be determined whether they can be combined in a unique modeling framework or if parallel assessments are required to cover the extent of political issues pertinent to imports. The link with existing state-of-the-art projects will be made and concrete guidance for their improvement for application to imports will be emphasized.
  • A clear understanding of what is currently feasible with existing data sets and what could be achieved with additional research will be provided. This framework will be presented and discussed during a workshop organized with funding agencies and invited stakeholders. Thematic focus, data needs and implications for agencies will be discussed.
  • Recommendations for research and policy-makers towards developing a robust environmental assessment of European imports. The proposal, taking into account environmental and political priorities, both in Europe and in main trade partners countries, will consider both the further methodological and data research needs. The potential role of national and supra-national institutions in the further development and application of the future methodology and data sets will be developed. The recommendations will be based both on results of the project and on discussions with funding agencies at the workshop and subsequently.
Contact for further information

Dr Isabelle BLANC  - Damien FRIOT – ARMINES  Isabelle.blanc@ensmp.fr Tel: +33 4 93 95 75 13