Climate Change and Official Statistics
Basics, Agenda + System
Walter Radermacher
President of the Federal Statistical Office, Germany
UNCEEA Meeting
New York, June 2008
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
My First Question: „Mainstreaming“???
Only a tribute to a fashion / politically correct
terminology?
or
A real message?
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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Basics in Environment Statistics I
DPSR-Ansatz (Friend/Rapport):
Driving Forces
Official Statistics
Pressures
Environmental Sciences
State
Response
Official Statistics
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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Basics in Environment Statistics II
Decomposition of Pressures:
pressures = population
( → demography)
x activity / population
( → life style)
x pressure / activity
( → efficiency)
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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A Need for Change
Industrial Society
Globalisation
natural goods + services:
low costs + productivity
Demography
Limitation of inputs
from nature
Economic growth
labour: high costs +
productivity
taxes + social costs: based
on income and labour
innovation: reduction of
labour input + increase
labour productivity
lifestyle: high consumption
of material and energy
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
Prices of natural
goods
Unemployment
Degradation of
environment
Poverty + migration
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Change Management
Information Society
Innovation strategy
Review of tax
structure
Manoeuvre towards
a sustainable
information society
Limitation of inputs
from nature
Focus on
knowledge and
information flows
natural goods + services:
high costs + productivity
labour: low costs +
productivity gains with low
material flows (e.g.
information)
taxes + social costs: based
on income, labour + input
from nature
innovation: reduction of
nature input + increase
nature productivity
lifestyle: low consumption
of material and energy
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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My Second Question:
Organisation of Work ??
Sequence?
or
Systematic Approach?
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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A Sequence of Themes:
Outcome of the Oslo Conference
Sectoral statistics
Emission inventories
Impact analyses
Emission trading
SEEA
GIS
Indicators
Modelling
Governance
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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Reductionism + Holism: Complementary Views
Synthetic indices signalling a high-level
governance
Overview
Indicator sets or aggregates with
a single unit of measure
Quantitative indicators with a multiple
dimension space of measures
Accounting data supplemented by
satellite systems
Details
Basic statistical data from surveys etc.
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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How to get beyond
GDP?
Modelling
Scenarios for
environmental
adjusted
economies
Basic data
Basic data
Basic data
Accounting
cooperation
OFFICIAL
STATISTICS
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
Valuation?
RESEARCH INSTITUTES
23/07/2016
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A Systematic Approach
Information
Application
Communication + advocacy
Indicators
Emission trading
SEEA
=
Framework
Modelling
Sectoral statistics
Impact analyses
Emission inventories
GIS
Technical coefficients
Ecosystems integrity
Classifications + Metadata
Governance
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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Toolbox Environment Statistics
Basic
Statistics
Geograph.
Information
Systems
Collection
x
x
Systematisation
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Analysis
Accounting
Modeling
(SEEA: MFA,
Valuation,…)
Aggregation
Communication
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
Indicators
(Ind. Sets,
Composite Ind.)
x
x
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The Activity Level
Provide resources for adequate
quality of official statistics
Make sure that
necessary basic data is
available
Broaden the accounting systems:
environment, sustainability, R&D,
human capital; core system and
satellite systems
Develop standard
SEEA
Agree on indicator
sets, based on
available information
Build up databases to analyse
transboundary flows
Improve communication tools
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany
23/07/2016
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Thank you for your
attention!
Walter Radermacher
+49 611 75 21 00
walter.radermacher@destatis.de
www.destatis.de
© Walter Radermacher, President Federal Statistical Office, Germany