Economic assessment of environmental measures
Environmental policy measures (e.g. draft legislation, sets of measures and action plans) have an impact on the economy, society and the environment (economic repercussions). In order to study the potential effect of planned measures before their introduction, and to assess the efficiency of their implementation, the FOEN applies guidelines on the economic assessment of environmental measures (known by the German acronym VOBU). These meet SECO's regulatory impact assessment (RIA) requirements and the ARE's sustainability assessment requirements.
With the help of these guidelines, environmental measures can be assessed in advance with regard to their effectiveness, benefits, costs, and economic viability for the sectors or regions concerned and their ease of implementation. The guidelines therefore help to organise and continuously improve environmental policy as effectively and economically as possible. At the same time, the impact of the measures is made transparent.
The guidelines on monetising the environmental impacts of policies allow users to easily estimate the environmental costs and benefits of regulations that have environmental implications. The monetisation steps are explained, the different cost rates are discussed, and the way in which uncertainties can be handled is shown. The potentially critical key steps are illustrated with case studies. These guidelines are intended to supplement the existing instruments (guidelines on the economic assessment of environmental measures (VOBU), RIA manual and sustainability assessment guidelines).
The OECD recommends that regulations ensure that the economic, social and environmental benefits justify costs, that distributional effects are taken into account and that net benefits are maximised. Costs and benefits can be identified with the help of a cost-benefit analysis. The OECD publication 'Cost-Benefit Analysis and the Environment' (2018) gives an overview of the theory and practical application of environmental cost-benefit analyses.
