The OECD has updated the methodology for estimating the SEEA Air Emission Accounts, i.e. the air emission accounts compiled in accordance with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting.<\/p>\n
The document is important for businesses, investors and authorities, as it shows how emissions data can be better linked to the structure of the economy. The methodology sets out how these emissions can be allocated across economic activities and households in a format that is comparable internationally.<\/p>\n
Climate reporting, transition risk analysis and public policy also rely on sector-specific data. The more clearly emissions can be linked to specific economic sectors, the more useful they become for assessing emissions intensity, for climate policy, for calculating carbon footprints and for analysing the decoupling of economic growth from environmental pressures.<\/p>\n
The OECD document updates the existing methodology for estimating air emissions accounts, with the aim of improving the coverage, granularity and international comparability of the data.<\/p>\n
The new methodology is based primarily on national greenhouse gas emissions inventories, on supplementary data sources, including physical energy flow accounts, and on the OECD\u2019s experimental estimates of emissions from air and maritime transport.<\/p>\n
The update aims to provide more detailed estimates by economic activity, using the A*64 classification, to extend the geographical coverage to all OECD countries, and to extend the time series of the estimates from 1990 to year t-2.<\/p>\n
Air Emission Accounts are statistical accounts that link emissions to economic and household activities, in line with the system of national accounts.<\/p>\n
There is a significant difference compared with national emissions inventories. Emissions inventories are reported by source category, in accordance with IPCC guidelines and UNFCCC requirements. Air emissions accounts convert this data into a structure compatible with economic activities, so that emissions can be analysed alongside indicators such as gross domestic product, value added or output.<\/p>\n
This link enables the calculation of emissions by sector and helps to analyse the relationship between economic activity and pollution.<\/p>\n
The updated methodology retains an \u2018inventory-first\u2019 approach. This means that the starting point is the national emissions inventories, and emissions are then allocated to economic activities and households. What is new is the more detailed manner in which the OECD carries out this allocation. The methodology uses supplementary data sources to allocate emissions to the relevant economic sectors. Where an inventory category corresponds to several economic activities, emissions are allocated on the basis of allocation coefficients.<\/p>\n
The document also extends the scope of emissions coverage to include international air and maritime transport, in line with the SEEA\u2019s reporting boundaries. It also introduces adjustments between the territory principle and the residence principle, in order to align more closely with the SEEA Central Framework.<\/p>\n
In national inventories, emissions are generally viewed from a territorial perspective: which emissions occur within a country\u2019s territory. In environmental economic accounts, the approach is different. The SEEA follows the principle of residence, which is similar to the approach used in national accounts. What counts are the activities of an economy\u2019s resident units, even if some emissions occur outside the national territory.<\/p>\n
This difference is particularly significant for air and maritime transport. A resident company may generate emissions outside the national territory, whilst a non-resident company may generate emissions within a country\u2019s territory. Without adjustments for territory and residence, the data are not fully comparable with the economic indicators used in national accounts.<\/p>\n
The OECD uses national emissions inventories reported via the Common Reporting Tables \u2013 the standard reporting format under the Paris Agreement \u2013 as its main source.<\/p>\n
The document states that all OECD countries had submitted such tables to the UNFCCC by 1 October 2025. This is important for expanding geographical coverage, as the new format no longer distinguishes between Annex I and non-Annex I countries.<\/p>\n
The methodology also draws on other sources where necessary, including IEA data, PRIMAP-hist, physical energy flow accounts, the OECD\u2019s STAN database, supply tables and OECD experimental estimates for air and maritime transport.<\/p>\n
At this stage, the scope of the greenhouse gases is limited to carbon dioxide. Estimates for total greenhouse gases are not included.<\/p>\n
However, the methodology is designed in such a way that it can be extended to other gases at a later stage. The OECD identifies the extension of coverage to non-CO\u2082 gases and to CO\u2082 from biomass as a future priority.<\/p>\n
Another important limitation concerns road transport. Plausibility tests show that the methodology reproduces total emissions, the sectoral breakdown and trends over time with a high degree of plausibility where the input data are consistent and sufficiently detailed. Road transport, however, remains a more challenging area, as it requires more significant territory\u2013residence adjustments.<\/p>\n
The OECD tested the methodology by comparing it with available official data. For a group of countries with official data, the results show a high degree of consistency for total CO\u2082 emissions, excluding air transport, maritime transport, fisheries and road transport.<\/p>\n
The document mentions an average absolute percentage error of approximately 3.9% for this type of comparison. In many cases, the estimates closely match the official totals. Where larger differences arise, these are partly explained by adjustments and statistical discrepancies reported in the official accounts.<\/p>\n
The OECD also points out that the estimates accurately track the annual trends in emissions, particularly for total emissions and for major emission sources, such as manufacturing, energy production and supply, and households.<\/p>\n
The OECD states that its estimates will not replace official data where such data exist.<\/p>\n
The proposed strategy is to retain the official data and use the OECD estimates only to supplement them: to add sectoral detail where it is lacking, to extend the time series, or to cover situations where the official data are out of date or missing.<\/p>\n
This approach is important for users. It reduces the risk of confusion between official data and estimated data and requires clear documentation of the sources used for each country.<\/p>\n
Companies are assessed in relation to their sector. Investors, banks, authorities and major customers look at emissions intensity, transition risks and how certain industries align with climate targets. For such analyses, comparable sectoral data is essential.<\/p>\n
Air emissions inventories can help to understand the differences between sectors, to develop emissions intensity indicators, and to analyse trends in emissions in relation to value added or output. They can also be useful for calculating carbon footprints at macroeconomic or sectoral level.<\/p>\n
For companies in emission-intensive sectors, more granular sectoral data can serve as a benchmark in discussions with lenders and investors. For companies operating within international value chains, such data can help them understand the pressures arising from climate policies, sustainability reporting and customer requirements.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
OECD a actualizat metodologia de estimare a SEEA Air Emission Accounts, adic\u0103 a conturilor emisiilor \u00een aer construite conform Sistemului de Contabilitate Economic\u0103 \u0219i de Mediu. Documentul este important pentru companii, investitori \u0219i autorit\u0103\u021bi, pentru c\u0103 arat\u0103 cum pot fi legate mai bine datele despre emisii de structura economiei. Metodologia arat\u0103 cum pot fi alocate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noutati"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10866"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10869,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10866\/revisions\/10869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esghub.ro\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}