EU Adopts New Rules to Track Environmental Impact of Economy

The Council of the European Union has officially adopted an amended regulation to expand its environmental economic accounts, aiming to enhance the monitoring of progress toward the European Green Deal’s climate and environmental objectives. This new regulation introduces three key modules—forest accounts, ecosystem accounts, and environmental subsidies accounts—into the EU’s common statistical system, which combines economic and environmental data.

The new modules will provide critical data on ecosystems, forest areas, and environmental subsidies, offering more detailed insights into the EU's environmental health and supporting sustainable policies. The forest accounts will track the extent of forest areas, available timber resources, and changes over time, while ecosystem accounts will assess the condition and services provided by ecosystems. Environmental subsidies will help measure the resources allocated to Green Deal objectives, protecting the environment and supporting sustainable practices.

Starting in 2025, EU member states will begin reporting this data to Eurostat, the European Commission's statistical office. In addition, a new statistical data portal will be launched in December 2024 to make this data publicly accessible, summarizing key indicators and climate change mitigation investments in an easily understandable format.

By providing a more comprehensive view of environmental impacts, the EU hopes to improve its decision-making processes and track the progress of its sustainability goals. The Commission plans to present additional modules on energy subsidies, climate change adaptation, and water management in the coming years.