Project

Methodological Convention 3.0: Further development and extension of the Methodological Convention for estimating environmental costs

With the Methodological Convention for Estimating Environmental Costs, since 2007 the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) recaps the state of international research in terms of amounts of pollutants, impacts and assessment approaches of environmental impacts of power generation and energy use, and derives recommendations for their practical application. This research project will elaborate the foundations for the forthcoming 3.0 version of this Convention. Besides updates in the fields of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and noise, new analyses will be added in eco systems, building materials, soil and water contamination and the climate effects of agriculture. The results will be compiled in the form of fact sheets per impact area.

The production of energy from renewable sources and its use in industry, transport and households put pressure on climate and the environment. To get the order of magnitude of this pressure tangible and for the assessment of technical and political reduction measures the environmental effects need to be translated into monetary costs. With the Methodological Convention for Estimating Environmental Costs, since 2007 the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) recaps the state of international research in terms of amounts of pollutants, impacts and assessment approaches and derives recommendations for their practical application. However, the amount and the composition of emissions from energy production and from energy consuming sectors, as well as the state of knowledge on impacts and assessment approaches develop over time. Accordingly, the analyses and recommendations are to be updated from time to time.

The objective of this study is thus to update the Methodological Convention for Estimating Environmental Costs 2.0, issued in 2012, to the current state of knowledge. Moreover, the traditional sectors energy production, industries, transport and household shall be extended to the pollution of soil and water, as well as to the construction and agricultural sectors.

According to its objectives, the project is structured by five work packages:

  • Validation and update of methods, data and cost values of the Methodological Convention 2.0.
  • Estimating environmental costs from damaging or destroying eco systems and loss of biodiversity.
  • Estimating the environmental costs of building materials.
  • Determining the environmental costs through exposure of phosphorus and nitrogen.
  • Determining of environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions of agriculture and changes in land use patterns.

The same method is applied in all work packages:

  • Comprehensive analysis of current scientific literature,
  • Comparative analysis of the reviewed studies, methods and cost rates,
  • Criteria-based selection of specific methods and cost rates for the Methodological Convention 3.0,
  • Determining quantitative effects or cost rates and
  • Deriving concrete recommendations for the Methodological Convention 3.0.

The project will finally produce one fact sheet for each of the five work packages. These fact sheets contain all the results including the relevant foundations, data, quantitative results and recommendations. In addition to detailed reports per cost category, a summary brochure published by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) will provide easy-to-apply mean cost values for the economic sectors considered in the study.

Duration

17.08.15 – 17.06.18

Client

  • German Federal Environment Agency (UBA)

Partners

  • INFRAS (CH), project coordinator

  • CE Delft (NL)

  • HELMHOLTZ Centre for environmental research - UFZ

  • KIT-EIFER: European Institute for Energy Research