ieep patrick ten brink presentation on beyond gdp indicators at the eeb sds seminar 16 nov 07
Upload: patrick-ten-brink-of-the-institute-for-european-environmental-policy
Post on 05-Dec-2014
3.169 views
DESCRIPTION
IEEP Patrick ten Brink Presentation on Beyond GDP Indicators at the EEB SDS Seminar 16 Nov 07.TRANSCRIPT
Is there a suitable overall indicator for
Sustainable Development
– to supplement GDP?
What are the possible candidates?
EEB Seminar
Reviewing the EU SDS
Brussels
Friday 16th November 2007
`
Patrick ten Brink
Head of Brussels Office
IEEP(Part of Beyond GDP team, but this presentation
does not represent an official position)
Presentation Structure
� Background: Some interesting Facts & the Beyond GDP context for this
presentation (see www.beyond-gdp.eu)
� Indicators to measure progress, true wealth & wellbeing – what is out there?
� From candidates to ideas for ways forward - some ideas to add to the debate
This contribution to the debate does not represent any formal position from Beyond GDP
The Beyond GDP conference an initiative of Commissioner Dimas, and a partnership
between the European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD, & WWF.
Supported by team: Ecologic, MNP, IEEP & media partners.
See www.beyond-gdp.eu
● ● ● Interesting Facts – Did you know that:
On GDP - different roles, different views
“Without measures of economic aggregates like GDP, policymakers would be adrift in
a sea of unorganized data. The GDP and related data are like beacons that help
policymakers steer the economy toward the key economic objectives”. Paul Samuelson,
in Samuelson and Nordhaus (1995)
Yet
Simon Kuznets - GDP's creator – already in 1934 said that “The welfare of a nation
can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income”.
& after almost 30 years further thought, added
“Distinctions must be kept in mind between quantity and quality of growth, between its
costs and return, and between the short and the long term. Goals for more growth
should specify more growth of what and for what.”
On GDP and natural resources
A country could cut down all its forests and deplete its natural resources and this
would show only as a positive gain to GDP despite of the loss of capital.
Source: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) 2005 see
http://www.millenniumassessment.org
On GDP and social equity“Progress measured by a single measuring rod, the GNP, has contributed significantly
to exacerbate the inequalities of income distribution”
Robert McNamara, President of the World bank, 1973
On GDP and learning from business
“No one would look just at a firm’s revenues to assess how well it was doing. Far more
relevant is the balance sheet, which shows assets and liability. That is also true for a
country.”
Joseph Stiglitz, 2005 in Foreign Affairs,
see http://www.foreignaffairs.org/.html
GDP is not enough; we need to go beyond GDP
Beyond GDP: What Questions will the
Conference address?
� What can economic measures such as GDP do best and where are other
measures of progress, true wealth and wellbeing needed?
� What are our societies’ health and wellbeing based on and how can nature be
taken into account ? What are our nations wealth based on?
� What measures are viable, useful complements to GDP – eg ecological
footprints, human development index, poverty index, happy planet index or
genuine savings approach?
� Where can we usefully use the complementary measures and hence improve the
measurement and reporting of the true wealth and wellbeing of nations?
� What needs to be done to support the process of moving beyond GDP?
Effectively same set of questions as the EEB seminar.
● ● ● What are the candidates for going
beyond GDP?
Figure 1: Growth in number of composite indices (UNDP Office of Development Studies, 2006). The indices cover a
diverse set of issues including competitiveness, governance, social aspects, human rights, the environment, security
and globalization.
Source: from MNP (2007)
More and more people are searching for better indicators
What indicators are out there?
+ frameworks/approach
National accounts satellites
Happy and Health life years
Structural indicators
EU-SDS indicators
Footprints (ecological, carbon)
Factor efficiency
Happy planet index
Human Poverty Index (HPI)
Human Development Index (HDI)
Genuine savings index
ISEW/GPI
GDP
Is there a best?
or simply
Horses for courses ?
Question of ‘fit for purpose’?
What purpose ?
&
Does it do the job?
Can it be developed to do the job?
Recall: The welfare of a nation can
scarcely be inferred from a
measurement of national income”.
see www.beyond-gdp.eu for descriptions and links
What indicators are out there? Competing?
HDI GSI
GPI
EF
Living Planet Report 2004, http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/key_publications/living_planet_report/index.cfm
Redefining Progress (2006) http://www.rprogress.org/projects/gpi/
2005 Human Development Report, UNDP
The World Bank (2005a) Where is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the XXI Century.
Categorisation of Indicators and SD Pillars
Economic
Environmental Social
GDP
Foot-
Genuine
savings
Greening
GDP
EU-SDS
indicators
HDIHappy
Planet
Index
EU-Env.
indicators
ISEW/
GPI
HPISocial
indicators
‘All-in-one’ approaches
Source: IEEP
SEEA
NCI
‘All-together’
approaches
Indicators – Some very specific coverage
and uses; others combine issues
Economic
Environmental
Social
Source: IEEP
GDP
Foot-
Genuine
savings
Greening
GDPEU-SDS
indicators
HDI
Happy
Planet
Index
EU-Env.
indicators
ISEW/
GPI
HPI
Social
indicators
NNP
SEEA
NCI
Where are which used ?Should we judge them all in the same way?
Measurement
Robust data on economy, society & environment
+
Evaluation of policies
Source: IEEP
Reporting to scientists / analysts &
policy makers
Communicating the facts – still
robust data, just the right robust
data in the right form.
Analysis
Policy making
Reporting to the outside world Public discussion
Tools: IA, CBA, MCA
Foot-
printGDP HDI
Foot-
SEEA
EU-Env.
indicators
Social
indicators
A: Don’t judge indicators for public by same criteria as that for analysts
Headline indicators
HDI
Decision making
Goal setting
Press
From candidates to ideas for ways forward - some
ideas to add to the debate
Measurement Eg We need to understand the state of our natural capital, ecosystem functions, services.
Reporting
Goal setting Eg Scope for greater use of ecological and carbon footprints
Eg Scope for greater use of factor efficiency targets
AnalysisEg need to understand ecosystem functions, services and
contributions to true wealth and wellbeing society better
Eg do a climate risk assessment
Public discussion
Eg scope for footprints, happiness and also impacts of natural hazards on livelihoods; national risk
Eg Countries should be encouraged to do and public more environmental accounts – stock accounts and flow.
Press
Eg scope for footprints, happiness, healthy life years, HDI
Reporting Eg National climate risk index and national ratings
Decision making Eg Revise way structural funds are allocated/dispersed
Personal contribution to debate - does not represent Beyond GDP
Conclusions
• Not one ‘best’, but a range of purposes and range of indicators
• Range of ways forward – some on measurement, some on analysis, some policy setting etc
• Developments in parallel - some make more robust and fit for purpose, some create new.
• Need to ensure that what is used is right for what it is used for.
• Need to broaden what is measured, understood, used, and debated.
• We need measures that build on robust data, useful for policy and understandable by the public.
• Many right answers. Need for many actors to take forward
What can and will be done ?
– debate here, debate on Monday and Tuesday at the Parliament, and after - -
commitment across parties for way forward already started.
IEEP is an independent not for profit institute dedicated to advancing an
environmentally sustainable Europe through policy analysis, development
and dissemination.
Thank you
EEB Seminar
Reviewing the EU SDS
Brussels
Friday 16th November 2007
`
Patrick ten Brink
Head of Brussels Office
IEEP
www.ieep.eu