Environmental economic accounting to advance EU policies and private contribution to nature investments

Abstract

In order to pursue a sustainable European future there is growing need for continued strengthening of environmental monitoring. In particular, European policies post-2020 need improved systems of environmental indicators, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the auspices of the UN and the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) – related to the Paris Agreement. Environmental concerns are already integrated in European policies in the 2014 – 2020 period, however, to better articulate economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability, as emphasized in recent EU policy papers, will require improved systems of indicators that incorporate all these factors.