TERM Member States with national transport and environment monitoring systems

Transcription

1 Indicator fact sheet TERM Member States with national transport and environment monitoring systems Indicator code / ID Analysis made on (Assessment date) 18 October 2004 EEA contact /fact sheet responsible Name Peder Jensen: HTUpeder.jensen@eea.eu.intUTH Fact Sheet development contact point Name: Joost Vermeulen, CE Delft HTUVermeulen@ce.nlUTH Many countries at least report transport and environment indicators under general state-of-the-environment or sustainability reports, but the use of TERM like monitoring systems is limited. New member states and accession countries lag behind in their monitoring efforts. Table 1: National transport and environment reporting mechanisms Member State included in general state-of-theenvironment reporting and environment reporting Environmental consequences Accessibility Indicator scope demand supply Price signals Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus? Efficiency Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lichtenstein Lithuania UD Luxembourg Malta? Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal

2 Table 1: National transport and environment reporting mechanisms Romania Indicator scope Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain PA Sweden Turkey? United Kingdom UD NB: UD = under development PA = partially available Source: EEA, 1999; EEA, 2001, communications with national experts. Results and assessment Policy relevance The indicator is defined as the number of Member States that have implemented indicatorbased monitoring systems for transport and the environment. It gives an indication of the pace of implementing the European agreements about the integration of transport and environmental policies. The objective is to monitor by using indicators the progress and effectiveness of national transport strategies. NB: this indicator includes indicator systems devised to monitor the progress of national policies on transport and environment (i.e. indicators which ideally should be matched to the objectives of the strategy) and, in absence of this, transport sections in other reporting systems (e.g. stateof-the-environment reports). Policy context In the Presidency conclusions from the European Council in Helsinki (European Commission, 1999b) it was established that the completion of sectoral strategies should be followed by their immediate implementation. Regular evaluation, follow-up and monitoring must be undertaken so that the strategies can be adjusted and deepened. The Commission and the Council are urged to develop adequate instruments and applicable data for these purposes. TERM is the expression of the monitoring part of this integration strategy. The European Council, reacting on a paper by the Council, stated in May 2001 that regular follow-up and reporting based on indicators must be a fundamental part of the (integration) strategies (European Council, 2001). In the White Paper on the common transport policy (European Commission, 2001), the Commission stresses that a sustainable transport system needs to be defined in operational terms in order to give useful information to go on. The monitoring tool already put in place (TERM) needs to be elaborated by including quantified objectives. There is no agreed common framework yet for national indicator-based reporting on integration of environmental objectives into transport policy. Monitoring is needed at national level to evaluate the effectiveness of national and regional policy measures and strategies in more depth than is possible within TERM. While TERM can serve as a common framework, national reports are expected to be more detailed. Regular updates of this indicator should facilitate coordination between TERM and national initiatives. In its report on the revision of the TEN-T guidelines (European Commission, 1999a), the Commission proposes the setting-up of a permanent observatory composed of a network of transport data and forecast institutions in Europe that would cooperate in collecting, assessing and forecasting traffic and environmental data on the TEN. Environmental context

3 National transport and environment monitoring systems, or at least some general monitoring of environmental effects of transport can contribute to more environmentally sound policies. This can happen by Assessment - highlighting environmentally problematic trends - measuring progress in achieving objectives - helping to formulate objectives where these are weak or lacking - increasing transparency, accountability and participation in decision making. Following the Cardiff and Vienna Summits, some countries have started preparatory work to establish national indicator-based monitoring systems. Reporting on transport and the environment in EU Member States was reviewed in the TERM feasibility study (EEA, 1999), which examined: the status of transport and environment indicators and the processes used by Member States to develop them; the type of indicators developed and their links with TERM and other relevant indicators. The findings supplemented by figures from other more recent sources are summarised in XTable 1X. Most countries report transport and environment indicators under state-of-the-environment reports or reports on environmental/sustainability indicators. Only 6 countries have, as yet, set up an indicator-based monitoring system specifically for transport. In the Netherlands and Finland, at least, these reporting systems are directly linked to a transport environmental strategy. The indicator reports therefore serve to monitor policy effectiveness. Scope Comparing the scope of the national reports with the TERM indicator list shows that national reports mostly concentrate on a few indicators such as: air emissions, noise, fuel prices, taxes, length of road infrastructure. Less frequently reported indicators include: fragmentation of land, uptake of cleaner fuels, public awareness, price and subsidies, life-cycle impacts of vehicles and infrastructure. Responsible agencies In the majority of Member States the environment ministry or environmental protection agency has taken the lead in developing sustainability reporting or state-of-the-environment reports and indicators. Systems are, however, often developed in partnerships, as discussed below (Data section). References

4 Danmarks Statistik, Developed in cooperation with the ministry of Traffic. Danmark Statistik. Denmark, 2002, personal communication by with NRC Denmark. DETR, 1999, A better quality of life A strategy for sustainable development for the United Kingdom, Department of the Environment, and the Regions, London, United Kingdom ( EEA, 1999, A feasibility study for an annual indicator report on transport and the environment in the EU, European Environment Agency (EEA) and Environmental Resources Management (ERM), Copenhagen, Denmark, July EEA, 2001, TERM questionnaire for accession countries (unpublished) questionnaire used for input at EEA s workshop Extending TERM to the accession countries, 8 June 2001, European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen, Denmark. European Commission, 1999a, Trans-European networks (TENs), 1998 annual report, COM(99) 410, Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium. European Commission, 1999b, Helsinki European Council Presidency conclusions, 10 and 11 December European Commission, 2001b, European transport policy for 2010: time to decide, COM(2001) 370, White Paper of the Commission of the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium, 12 September 2001 ( Fabricius, Personal communication with Adrián Fabricius, EEA principal contact point for transport in Slovak Republic. Finland, 2000, personal communication by with NRC Finland. Georgi, 2004, Personal communication with Birgit Georgi, EEA principal contact point for transport, UBA, Germany. German Ministry of, Building and Housing, 1999, Verkehr in Zahlen, Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau- und Wohnungswesen ( in figures, German Ministry of, Building and Housing), Berlin, Germany, October Portuguese Ministry of the Environment, 2000, Relatório do Estado do Ambiente, Direcção Geral do Ambiente (State of the Environment Report, Directorate-General for the Environment), Portugal. Sweden, 2000, personal communication by with NRC Sweden. United Kingdom, 2000, personal communication by with the NRC of United Kingdom. For coordinates, names of the NRCs for transport: ( Data Approaches in some countries Austria: In 1997, the Ministry of the Environment, Youth and Family Affairs published its first Environmental balance of transport Austria The aim was to provide data analyses that can feed into the development of strategies to achieve environmentally sound transport. The report presented time-series data for the key pressures that transport exerts on the environment and allowed some comparison by transport mode. It took into account the environmental impacts of all transport-related processes, from the manufacture of vehicles and provision of infrastructure, through operation and maintenance, to disposal. Denmark (Denmark, 2002): In Denmark, transport and environment indicators are included in the annual environment indicator report published by the Ministry of Energy and the Environment

5 Statistics Denmark published the monitoring report 2000 in September 2000, to update and extend Statistics The report includes a chapter about the environmental effects of transport (Danmarks Statistik, 2000). Moreover, Statistics Denmark has completed a method study modelled on the TERM indicators. However, the statistics are not yet presented in a separate publication. Finland (Finland, 2000): In Finland, the Ministry of and Communications has liaised with other ministries to collect relevant statistics. The Ministry of the Environment is responsible for producing and publishing other state-of-the-environment and related indicator reports. Monitoring and assessment of operational policy targets and annual action plans are seen as important in Finland for indicating whether the measures concerning vehicles, fuels, transport management and maintenance are proceeding as planned. In August 2000, the ministry published the first follow-up report based on the environmental guidelines on the achievements of operational targets in view of environmental sustainability. Germany (Georgi, 2004; German Ministry of, Building and Housing, 1999): In Germany, transport and environmental indicators are monitored in the report Traffic in figures. The Ministry of publishes this report annually. The internet based system Umweltdaten Deutchland Online (( of the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) includes also extended transport and environmental data. The database is updated annually. Every 4 years the Federal Environmental Agency publishes the state of environment report Daten zur Umwelt including the environmental impacts of transport. The Netherlands: In the Netherlands, the Ministry of publishes a yearly TERM-like report. The planning law requires the minister to assess progress of the national transport policy annually and to report on this using data from provinces and municipalities about progress at these levels. The national transport policy is an integrated plan (it has safety and environment objectives). is also a chapter in the Environmental balance, a report published annually by an independent monitoring agency, to join the budget proposals of the Ministry of Environment. Portugal (Portuguese Ministry of the Environment, 2000): Monitoring transport and environment indicators is included in the environmental indicators report published by the Ministry of the Environment. This state-of-the-environment report includes a chapter devoted to transport. Slovak Republic: (Fabricius, 2004). TERM indicators have been used as a model for the Reports on the Impact of economic sectors on environment in the Slovak republic so called Sectoral Reports. One of these reports - Impact of the on the Environment of the Slovak Republic was prepared by the Slovak Environmental Agency (2004). All the major areas of TERM reporting are included in the report. Sweden (Sweden, 2000): Since 1991, the Swedish transport authorities have been commissioned by the government to issue annual environmental reports. These summarise clearly and comprehensively map the overall environmental impact of the transport sector. The reports show how much progress has been made towards the environmental targets for the various modes. The account consists of an environmental report from each authority (for road, rail, shipping and aviation) and a comprehensive joint report. United Kingdom: In May 1999, the UK Government published A better quality of life A strategy for sustainable development for the United Kingdom. One of the priorities of the strategy for the future is to promote a transport system that provides choice and also minimises environmental harm while reducing congestion. The strategy includes 15 headline indicators, to give a broad overview of trends, and outlines a national set of about 150 indicators, to focus on specific issues and to identify areas for action. Progress is reported annually (DETR, 1999). An additional annual publication of the Ministry of the Environment, and the Regions is trends. This report provides information about major transport tends and current areas of policy interest (United Kingdom, 2000). Indicators to monitor the implementation of the 10-year transport plan ( 2010) are under development

6 Bulgaria: Several ministries (but not transport) are involved in environmental monitoring. A national automated system for environmental monitoring is established. Environment Protection Act, Chapter 2, Art. 11(1): Information on environment condition is collected by the specialised bodies of the Ministry of Environment and Waters, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and National Statistical Institute, and by entities upon their authorisation and by the municipality bodies. Main objective: legislative compliance with the requirements of the EU acquis; improvement of infrastructure, transport and safety; promoting of environment friendly modes and public transport. The indicators include emissions and noise, fuel efficiency, load factors and land fragmentation by infrastructure. Czech Republic: A system of environmental indicators was developed in The Ministry of and Communications is responsible for monitoring transport emissions. Total emissions are monitored by the Ministry of the Environment. Estonia: monitoring is the responsibility of the Ministry of and Communications. Environmental monitoring is the responsibility of the Ministry of the Environment. For air emissions, transport indicators are prepared according to international formats (Corinair, Copert). However, Estonia has no indicator-based reporting system. Hungary: For air, transport indicators are prepared according to international formats (Corinair, Copert, Institute for Science Ltd). Latvia: The Latvian Environment Agency has established a working group to create an air and climate monitoring system which will also register transport impacts. Lithuania: Data on transport are published annually in a Lithuanian Statistics Department publication and communications. Data on the environmental situation are published by the Lithuanian Statistics Department. However, there is no integrated system. Poland: there is a transport section in The main problems for the environment in Poland, an indicator-based report, Environmental Monitoring Library, Warsaw, 2001; Slovenia: The Ministry of of Slovenia has a web site (in English), offering some relevant information. It indicates that a system will be set up, in line with European standards, to monitor the effectiveness of transport policy. It will focus on traffic flows, their effect on the environment, the infrastructure, the economy and social activities. The ministry considers this to be the only way to constantly adapt transport policy measures to bring newly arising social and environmental conditions. No information is available for remaining countries. Metadata Overall scoring (give 1 to 3 points: 1 = no major problems, 3 = major reservations): 2 (Relatively old data, but still providing sufficient information as reports are generally not withdrawn.) Web presentation information 1. Abstract / description / teaser: and environment indicators are widely used, at least in the old member states. However, TERM like monitoring systems are infrequent. 2. Policy issue / question: Do member states use sound national transport and environment monitoring systems? 3. EEA dissemination themes: 4. DPSIR: R Technical information 1. Data source: EEA

7 2. Description of data: number of Member States with T & E monitoring and reporting systems in place. 3. Geographical coverage: EU-25 plus Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria 4. Temporal coverage: 1999 or Methodology and frequency of data collection: ad hoc studies, questionnaires, and personal communications. 6. Methodology of data manipulation, including making early estimates : not applicable. Quality information 7. Strength and weakness (at data level): Categories in table 1 are not very clear 8. Reliability, accuracy, robustness, uncertainty (at data level): few quality checks on questionnaire data. 9. Overall scoring (give 1 to 3 points: 1 = no major problems, 3 = major reservations): 2 Relevancy: 1 Accuracy: 2 Comparability over time: 3 (No time series are available.) Comparability over space: 3 (Scope and quality of the T & E monitoring reports are difficult to compare across countries.) Further work required Interactive forum Updating this indicator could be done most effectively through an interactive forum where Member States contribute information on their transport and environment indicator reports. The EEA s interest group on transport and environment could be extended for this purpose. Online database Information on national transport and environment reports could be integrated and made accessible through the EEA s online database on the state of the environment reporting information system (SERIS). Further development of definition The definition of indicator-based monitoring systems has to be further developed. There are borderline cases where the definition is not specific enough