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Nøgletal for samfundsøkonomiske beregninger på miljø- og naturområdet IntroductionBackground and objective Recent years have brought increasing focus on socio-economic analyses for the environment area. As a result of this, there is a need for clear and well-founded documentation of the socio-economic effects of environmental measures. Guidelines on recommended methods already exist. In 1999, the Ministry of Finance published ”Vejledning i udarbejdelse af samfundsøkonomiske konsekvensvurderinger” (Guidelines on the preparation of socio-economic impact assessments) and in 20000 the Ministry of the Environment and Energy published guidelines on “Samfundsøkonomisk vurdering af miljøprojekter” (socio-economic assessment of environmental projects). The objective of this catalogue of key figures is to compare and provide an overview of figures and calculation methods for use in socio-economic analyses for the environment area in Denmark. The catalogue of key figures is to ensure a common and uniform basis for socio-economic assessments, as well as to facilitate preparation of analyses in future. Scope For this first version of the catalogue of key figures, focus is on key figures in the following specialist areas:
In addition, the catalogue includes general key figures cutting across specialist areas. For air pollution, water and agriculture, reassessment and updating of a number of key data are under way. The Environmental Protection Agency has chosen to await this reassessment and has therefore omitted key figures of this kind in the current version of the catalogue. The environment and nature field moreover includes a number of specialist areas which are not included in the catalogue of key figures. These areas may be included in a future edition of the catalogue. The key figures have been collated from a series of studies and analyses primarily carried out under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment. This means that the key figures were prepared on the basis of specific assumptions regarding e.g. interest rates, time horizon, geographic delimitation etc. within the individual analysis. These assumptions are not always consistent across analyses, however information is provided, as far as possible, on the assumptions underlying the individual key figures. Use of the key figures should therefore be subject to this reservation. Furthermore, methods used may differ, which may also be of considerable significance for the results. The catalogue of key figures is based on the data available at present. This means that key figures may not be available because they do not exist or because existing values were assessed to be too uncertain or of too poor a quality for use as key figures. The key figures in this catalogue have been included because they are assessed to be general enough in nature for use in a number of analyses. On the other hand, more specific key figures that are only likely to be relevant for very narrow analyses have been omitted. Finally, it should be noted that the values in this catalogue should be considered as recommended figures for use where more detailed data do not exist or cannot be provided. Key figures on other areas than the environment can be found in other sources. Amongst others, the Ministry for Transport and Energy has prepared a catalogue of key figures for the area of transport, ”Nøgletalskatalog – til brug for samfundsøkonomiske analyser på transportområdet, 4. udgave, juni 2006” (catalogue of key-figures – for use in socio-economic analyses in the transport area, 4th edition, June 2006). Furthermore, the Energy Authority has prepared calculation assumptions for socio-economic analyses in the area of energy. See for example: ”Appendiks: Forudsætninger for samfundsøkonomiske analyser på energiområdet” (appendix: assumptions in socio-economic analyses in the energy area, revised July 2006). Structure The catalogue of key figures is structured so that the pages to the right contain tables with the key figures themselves. The pages to the left contain explanations of some of the most important methodological assumptions and problems in connection with use of the key figures. Finally, each key figure is linked to a source that can be referred to for more detailed documentation regarding the key figure in question. The specialist areas have been structured into the following categories:
The tables also state to which year’s price level the financial key figures relate. With only few exceptions, financial key figures have been projected to 2005 price level using the consumer price index (see table 2.3). Conversion to the 2005 price level has been omitted where there is e.g. a balance sheet (for forestry, for example), a politically determined action parameter (indicators in the climate area, for example), or figures with atypical price developments (such as figures on house prices). Users are therefore encouraged to be aware of the need for possible supplementary price regulation in order to ensure consistency in specific calculations. The catalogue of key figures will be updated with the latest figures available about once every year. The catalogue is available in Danish in electronic format at www.mst.dk.
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