Current Issues in the Implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting

Abstract

The article outlines the international standard, System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) – Central Framework, adopted by the UN in 2015 as the basis for developing 23 indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. Statistical data from SEEA accounts provide the comprehensive assessment of environment, help identify trends and consequences of human impact on nature, serve as a tool for the formation and implementation of environmental policy in general, and help in monitoring the implementation of international obligations and recommendations including sustainable development areas.A separate section of the article covers specific features of SEEA implementation in selected countries of the world. There is an elaborate reflection of the work on the introduction of this standard to the Russian Federation, carried out by the Federal State Statistics Service. The authors believe that the need for a certain sequence of actions associated with the development and implementation of SEEA accounts gives impetus (in the short term) for the application of priority accounts, guided by the roadmap for the SEEA priority accounts implementation, approved by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation. The information base built using these accounts is necessary for conducting international comparisons, calculations of SDG indicators and green economy indicators.