On Environmental Welfare Policy and Its Measurements

1. UNOSD Consultative W/S 2013. 12. 10 On Environmental Welfare Policy and Its Measurements Hoi-SeongJeong Institute for the Environment & Civilization

2. Contents I. WhyEnvironmental Welfare Indicators? II. Logical Background of Environmental Welfare Policy III. Review on Environmental Indicators from the Perspective of EW Policy Ⅳ. Concluding Remarks: Directions for Developing New EW Indicator systems

3. Why Environmental Welfare and • ItsIndicators?

4. I. Why Environmental Welfare Indicators? Modern Society and Welfare State: Arguments and Limitations • Unfair society and arguments on welfare state •  Aggravation of relative poverty • Arguments are aimed for coexistence(living together) but limited to the issues of the present generation. Human Happiness, More than Just Material Satisfaction • After the basic human needs for survival are fulfilled quantitatively, attention is naturally drawn to qualitative values of economic growth. • A welfare nation, in the true sense, is one where even the qualitative value of economic growth is equally distributed and most of its members feel happiness. Environment as a Prerequisite for National Welfare • Environmental quality as a basic needsto sustain human dignity • Securing a high quality environment is a sufficient & necessary condition for sustainable growth of happiness.

5. I. Why Environmental Welfare Indicators? Harmony Between the Present and Future Generations • Excessive consumption in the present generation can undermine the foundation of welfare of the future generations. • Welfare policy should serve for the foundation of prosperity and happiness to be shared by the future generations as well. Environmental Welfare and EW Indicator system • All these challenges and the emerging SDGs require a new concept of environmental welfare policy and it’s measurement, an EW indicator system. • Keeping track of change and trends in EW using a well designed EW indicators systems to condition outcomes and evaluate the effectiveness of EW Policy

6. II.Logical Background of Environmental Welfare Policy

7. 1. Environment and Human Happiness Dual Characteristics of Environmental Resources • As a basic need: • Environmental assets (air, water, soil, etc.) are at the bottom of human needs • for existence: Prerequisites for universal welfare  80% of major diseases are related with the exposure to environmental risk factors (85/102diseases).  An estimation of 24% of the disease-related health loss and 23% of the mortality rate is attributable to environmental causes. • As a Luxury Goods: • As income levels rise the demand for high quality environmental assets also rises.

8. 1. Environment and Human Happiness The Paradox of Happiness • The Easterlin’s Paradox- The rise in income level doesn’t necessarily increase the national happiness. The Theory of Treadmill (Happiness ends with adaptation.) Increase of income The Theory of Relativity (Comparison with others) The Theory of Desire-distention (Desire-whetting Society)

9. 1. Environment and Human Happiness Human Happiness and Environment • Law of diminishing marginal utility • - Ordinary goods: diminishing marginal utility (buyable happiness) • - Environmental goods: accumulating marginal utility (non-buyable happiness) • Income elasticity of demand • - Environment: high income elasticity of demand. •  The paradox of happiness doesn’t apply. - Ordinary goods: low income elasticity of demand • Exclusiveness of consumption • - Enjoying environmental quality doesn’t require exclusiveness and comparison with others. • Diversity and boredom - Environment, highly diverse, precludes boredom and serves • as a source of lasting happiness.

10. 2. Background of Environmental Welfare Policy Welfare State and Environmental Problem • - First, damage caused by chemicals uses (such as asbestos) • Second, regressive nature of environmental damages • Third, regressive tendency of climate change impacts • Fourth, inequality in accessibility to natural environment • Inequality in accessibility to nature • Regressive quality of climate change Regressive quality of environmental damage Damage from the use of chemicals

11. 2. Background of Environmental Welfare Policy The Deepening Problem of Environmental Injustice • Inequality in the distribution of environmental services • Inequality in the sharingof environmental damages Increases in Environmental Threat to the Social Weak • 350,000 yearly deaths due to climate change and 20,000,000 climate-related refugees in 2008 • Increase in medical expense & decrease in food production and hike in food price • Danger of nuclear accidents (ex. the Fukushima nuclear disaster) Environmental Injustice among Nations • Ratio of Environmental diseases: OECD 14% vs. Non-OECD 24% • Duration of diseases: Non-OECD member countries suffers more than 15 times than OECD member countries

12. 3. Defining Environmental Welfare Policy Concept and Purposes of Environmental Welfare Policy - The Concept of Environmental Welfare Policy • Intends to guarantee all the people in nation - both present generation and • future generation – minimum levels environmental quality and services • as basic needs that are required to enjoy decent quality of life -The Purposes of Environmental Welfare Policy • To let the entire nation enjoy environmental quality as a basic need for quality life. • To let the entire nation enjoy decent life having their environmental rights satisfied.  The target class of social welfare policy is more vulnerable to environmental damage.  Environmental welfare policy pursues symbiosis within a human society and symbiosis between humans and nature. • Related Concepts: environmental welfare, ecological welfare, environmental equality, environmental justice, ecological justice

13. 3. Defining Environmental Welfare Policy <Table> Comparison of Environmental and Social Welfare

14. 3. Defining Environmental Welfare Policy Meaning of Emerging of the Idea of Environmental Welfare • Extensive transition from ex-post welfare to preventive welfare • Supplementing material welfare with emotional/mental welfare • Transition from present-bound welfare to one embracing future generations • From consumption-centered welfare to productive welfare (for preserving production elements) • From spatially isolated welfare to spatially integrated welfare •  By closing the regional and residential gaps in environmental quality Environmental Welfare towards a Sustainable Welfare State • What matters most for mechanized men in the modern industrial world • → Nature as it is, which has no affectation • → Nature provides a foundation for safe living and gives stability and richness to our mind • A sustainable welfare state in a true sense is a society where people can find • peace and happiness in nature, where life evolves through continuous • cooperation and adaptation. • The concept of environmental welfare aims for such kind of welfare state.

15. 4. Principles of Environmental Welfare Policy Securing Environmental Basic Rights • Securing the basic rights of people to enjoy the environment as a basic need (for the socially and economically disadvantaged) • Considering the aspect of ecological justice as well Proactive and Prevention-oriented Welfare • Preventive measures are more effective and economical than reactive ones to improve human welfare. • Environmental welfare policy that intends to provide a healthy and sound environment could prevent outbreak of disease and supply comfortable environment. Democratic Community-based Approach • Environmental welfare intends to cure inequality in the spatial distribution • of environmental resources and services. • Policies should be established and implemented through democratic procedures so that opinions of beneficiaries can be well reflected.

16. 4. Principles of Environmental Welfare Policy Providing aProductive Welfare • By providing the good environmental conditions for the socio-economically weak to maintain good health, environmental welfare can promote the productive activities of them • Many policies to protect the environment can create good jobs for the uneducated and poor social groups that are subject to social welfare. Considering Next Generation’s Welfare • The future generation have a right to enjoy as much welfare as the present generation • Efforts should be made to protect this right from being infringed upon(environmental quality, foundation for natural resource use, biodiversity, etc)

17. III. Review on Environmental Indicators from the Perspective of EW Policy

18. 1. Environmental Indicators and Trends • Why Environmental Indicators • To enhance the environmental sustainability of nations an index which can assess their current circumstances and evaluate the state of SD and issues being faced is needed • Major Functions of Environmental Indicators - Keeping track of changes and trends in environmental conditions - Suggesting the direction for environmental policy - Assessing policy effectiveness - Provision of environmental information • Trends in the SD indicator Development • Currently most international organizations and many countries including Korea have put environmental indicators systems and SD indicators in place and are using them to assess the environmental conditions and environmental policy performance • This presentation briefly reviews the environmental indicators, the UNCSD, OECD and EU etc. are all developing indexes and carrying out assessments of countries on sustainable environmental management

19. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems 1) World Environment Indicators (World Bank) • Based on urban sustainability indicators, the system was developed to assess the environmental pollution occurring as a result of rapid development in the US in the 1970s with indicators divided into 4 sections outlined below: • Main Indicators – on natural resourcesincluding:agriculture, land, forest, coast, water, mineral, fossil fuel etc. • Pollution Indicators – on climate change, greenhouse gas, acidification etc. • Bio-resources Indicators – on biodiversity, coast and land features • Human Indicators– related to human life such as: health, water quality, air quality, food safety, housing, waste and access to employment etc. • The indicators are based on the ideal of an absence of threats to ecological balance and all people being able to share in the benefits of a healthy environment

20. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems 2) OECD Environmental Indicators • Realizing the importance of environmental conditions the OECD began developing various core environmental indicators in the early 1990s. • While advising member countries to develop environmental indicators reflecting their circumstances, the OECD is are actively using the results to assess their environmental performance. • The indicators measure the influence of human activity on the environment, current environmental circumstances and the effectiveness of efforts to address these areas - Environmental Issues: climate change, ozone layer depletion, eutrophication, acidification, toxic materials, quality of urban environment, waste production, land degeneration (desertification, erosion) - Natural Resources: water resources, biodiversity/scenery, forest resources, fish stocks - Basic Indicators: population growth and density, GDP, industrial production, energy provision andprovision structure, traffic volume, agricultural productivity etc.

21. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems 3) UNCSDSustainable Development Indicators • The program to develop sustainable development indicators was launched in 1995 - In 1996 the first draft of the UNCSD sustainable development indicators (SDI) system of 134 indicators covering the main aspects of Agenda 21 (society/economy/ environment/institutions) was announced - In 2001 through experimental research on the previous SDI a new core SDI covering 4 sectors (society/environment/economy/institutions) 15 areas, 38 articles and 57 indicators was selected • The system makes a general assessment of the current state of sustainable development through - Ensuring the provision of statistical data over time for each indicator item, - Analyzing the trends of change in indicators and - Working to grasp what effect the outcomes have on the sustainability of development

22. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems 4) National Sustainable Development Indicators A. EU – Sustainable Development Indicators • In 1997 the EU developed SDIs based on the 132 indicators of theUNCSDsystem, and later edited them in 2001 • Divided into 4 sections (society, environment, economy, institutions)and made up of 15areas, 38items and 64indicators B. UK – Sustainable Development Indicators • Put together in 1996, and made up of 21sections, 51areasand 118indicators. Edited in 2005 to be 6 sections with 147 indicators. • The 6 sections are:sustainability indicators, sustainable economy, sustainable community, environment and resource management, international cooperation and developmentand ‘other’ C. Germany – Sustainable Development Indicators • Created in 2008 based on an image of a future society which has achieved sustainable development, • The indicators were organized into 4 categories:fairness between generations, quality of life, social solidarity and international responsibility • Analyzed as handling important social conditions which all of international society should be aiming towards

23. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems D. USA – Sustainable Development Indicators • Set up in 1998 based on 20 issues chosen for national sustainable development • The 20 issues chosen were divided into 3 groups of indicators: economic, environment, and social indicators; matching the national sustainable development strategy areas E. Korea – Sustainable Development Indicators • With the establishment of the SD implementation plan in October 2006at a cabinet meeting, national sustainability indicators • 77 in total suitable for measuring conditions in Korea) were chosen in order to objectively diagnose the national level of sustainability • The indicators were structured to be similar to international systems with four levels: 3 sections, 14 areas, 33 items and 77 indicators • The information provided by the sustainable development indicators, which probe the status of national SD, is being used as foundational data for the supplementation of national SD strategy

24. 2. Review on Various Environmental Indicators Systems 5) EPI and ESI A. Environmental Performance Index (EPI) • Purpose: environmental performance assessment of reduction of pressure of human demands of the environment,ecosystem durability and thesound management of natural resourcescovering all nationsof the world • Announced: officially presented once every two years at the Davos Forum held in Switzerland • Outcomes: serving to keep countries around the world alert to the importance of environmental improvement B. Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) • Purpose: Provide pre-outlooks on individual countries’ long-term sustainability through assessment of environmental quality and also social and economic conditions etc. • The 2005 ESI was composed of5 main areas with 20 indicators

25. 3. Comparison of Major Environmental Indicators System

26. 3. Comparison of Major Environmental Indicators System

27. 4. Implications for the Environmental Welfare Policy Analysis Diverse but unclear environmental indicator systems • Very diverse environmental indicator systems have been designed until now • - Most of them address various categories of environmental issues and • - also focus environmental conditions and policy efforts either separately or together • Most EI systems use too many indicators without clear purposes and targets • Recently equality and poverty and climate change issues seem to be drawing more attention. Insufficient for the Measurement of Environmental Welfare • It could be argued that those systems have a certain limitations in diagnosing nation’s environmental welfare conditions and policy efforts. • Accordingly one must redesign an environmental indicator system to review EWP efforts of a nation.

28. Ⅳ. Concluding Remarks: Directions for Developing New EW Indicator System

29. 1. An Approach to the Environmental Welfare Indicators Emphasis Shift in the Environmental Welfare Indicators System • Giving more priority to a proactive and prevention measure than mere cure after things happened • Maintaining a good balance between the present and the future generations’ welfare conserving the environment and resources for future use • Considering the improvement of productive capacity of the social weak rather than the mere improvement of consumption level of them • Giving priority in the provision of the community-based welfare goods and services rather than individual-oriented ones to improve the society’s overall welfare level Major Features of Environmental Welfare Indicators Could Illustrate • The improvement of quality of life - in particular for the social weak who are vulnerable for environmental deterioration - rather than mere environmental conservation • An integrated welfare policy considering the disparity of social class and regions together and the use of environmental policy as a mean of social welfare improvement • The welfare of the future generation emphasizing precautionary measures and the conservation of the environmental as productive resources

30. 2. Major Categories and Indicators of Environmental Welfare

31. Thank you for listening • Hoi-seongJeong, Ph.D President, Institute for the Environment & Civilization hoiseong87@hanmail.net www.enc2009.or.kr