Government expenditure on environmental protection

Data extracted in February 2024

Planned article update: February 2025

Highlights

General government expenditure in the EU on 'environmental protection' amounted to €130 billion (0.8 % of GDP) in 2022.

General government total expenditure on environmental protection, 2022 (% of GDP) - Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp)

This article analyses data on general government total expenditure on 'environmental protection' (according to the Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG). It is part of a set of statistical articles based on general government expenditure by function.

Eurostat collects data on general government expenditure by economic function according to the international Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) in the framework of the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010).

Full article

Expenditure on 'environmental protection'

In 2022 in the EU, total expenditure of general government on 'environmental protection' amounted to 0.8 % of GDP. Of this, expenditure on 'waste management' amounted to 0.4 % of GDP, while 0.1 % of GDP was devoted to expenditure in each of the following COFOG groups: 'waste water management', 'pollution abatement', 'protection of biodiversity and landscape' and not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.) expenditure relating to environmental protection.

Expenditure on 'environmental protection' ranged between 0.2 % of GDP and 1.4 % of GDP in 2022

In 2022, the Netherlands devoted the highest ratio of GDP to 'environmental protection' (1.4 % of GDP), followed by Belgium (1.2 % of GDP), France and Malta (1.1 % of GDP each). In the Netherlands, 0.6 % of GDP was spent on 'waste management' and 0.4 % on 'waste water management'. In Belgium, 0.4 % of GDP was spent on 'waste management' and 0.5 % on 'pollution abatement'. In France , 0.5 % of GDP was spent on 'waste management' and 0.2 % on 'waste water management'. In Malta, 0.5 % of GDP was spent on 'waste management' and 0.3 % of GDP on 'protection of biodiversity and landscape'. At the other end of the scale, for 2022, Finland reported a ratio of 0.2 % of GDP for environmental protection expenditure followed by Ireland with 0.3 % of GDP and Denmark with 0.4 % of GDP.

The highest ratios to GDP for 'waste management' was reported by Greece (0.8 % of GDP), followed by Spain, Italy and the Netherlands (all 0.6 % of GDP).

The highest ratios to GDP for 'waste water management' was reported by Luxembourg, Cyprus and the Netherlands (all 0.4 % of GDP), followed by Slovenia (0.3 % of GDP). Among EFTA countries, Norway also reported an expenditure of 0.3 % of GDP for 'waste water management'.

Belgium reported the highest ratio in the EU for 'pollution abatement' (0.5 % of GDP),largely due to tax-subsidy schemes for renewable energy, followed by Slovenia (0.4 % of GDP).

For the 'protection of biodiversity and landscape', EU countries devoted between 0.3 % and 0.1 % of GDP or less than this in 2022. In 2022, Malta was the country that had distinctly the largest expenditure in this function (0.3 % of GDP).

The expenditure on research and development (R&D) related to environmental protection was very low in all Member States in 2022 (0.1 % of GDP or less).

Table 1: General government total expenditure on environmental protection, 2022 (% of GDP) - Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp)

Evolution of environmental protection expenditure

Over the period 1995-2022, EU expenditure on environmental protection remained relatively stable, ranging between 0.7 % of GDP and 0.9 % of GDP. Its share in total expenditure also remained relatively stable, varying between 1.4 % and 1.7 % of total expenditure.

Between 2021 and 2022, at the level of the EU, government expenditure on environmental protection increased by €11 billion from €119 billion to €130 billion, while the ratio to GDP (0.8 % of GDP) and the share in total expenditure (1.6 %) remained stable.

Source data for tables and graphs

The detailed tables are available here.

Data sources and availability

Reporting of data to Eurostat

Annual government finance statistics (GFS) data are collected by Eurostat on the basis of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) transmission programme. Member States are requested to transmit, among other tables, table 1100, 'Expenditure of general government by function' twelve months after the end of the reference period. Table 1100 provides information about expenditure of the general government sector divided into main COFOG functions and ESA 2010 categories. The transmission of the COFOG I level breakdown (divisions) is compulsory for the years 1995 onwards, whereas information on the COFOG II level (COFOG groups) is provided on a compulsory basis for the general government sector from reference years 2001 onwards. The main reference year used in this publication is 2022 as the latest year available at EU level.

Data was extracted on 29 February 2024.

Provisional data

While a significant effort was undertaken to harmonise the recording of government measures to alleviate the impact of increasing energy prices, a full harmonisation of data for the reference year 2022 was not yet achieved.

Data for the EU and euro area aggregates (2022), Belgium (2022), Germany (2020-2022), Spain (2022), France (2021-2022) and Portugal (2022) is provisional.

Definition of general government and its subsectors

The data relate to the general government sector of the economy, as defined in ESA 2010, paragraph 2.111: 'The general government sector (S.13) consists of institutional units which are non-market producers whose output is intended for individual and collective consumption, and are financed by compulsory payments made by units belonging to other sectors, and institutional units principally engaged in the redistribution of national income and wealth’.

Classification of functional expenditure of government

The Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) classifies government expenditure into ten main categories (divisions known as the 'COFOG I level' breakdown): general public services; defence; public order and safety; economic affairs; environmental protection; housing and community affairs; health; recreation, culture and religion; education; social protection. These divisions are further broken down into 'groups' (COFOG II level).

For 'environmental protection', the groups are

'waste management',
'waste water management',
'pollution abatement',
'protection of biodiversity and landscape',
'R&D environmental protection',
'environmental protection n.e.c.',

Further information is available in the Eurostat Manual on sources and methods for the compilation of COFOG Statistics.

Satellite accounts

Administrative expenditure data is additionally collected in so-called satellite accounts. In general, the amount of expenditure recorded in satellite accounts is expected to exceed the expenditure recorded under the respective COFOG division. More details on the comparability of COFOG data with satellite accounts data can be found in the COFOG manual.

Definition of general government total expenditure

Government total expenditure is defined in ESA 2010, paragraph 8.100 by using as reference a list of ESA 2010 categories. More detail is provided in the overview article on Government expenditure by function – COFOG.

Gross Domestic Product

Throughout this publication, the nominal GDP, i.e. GDP at current prices is used. The latest GDP available at time of publication is used.

Time of recording & symbols used

In the ESA 2010 system, recording is on an accrual basis, that is, when ‘economic value is created, transformed or extinguished, or when claims and obligations arise, are transformed or are cancelled.'

":" not available

"pp" percentage points

More data and information

For more country-specific notes, e.g. on missing data, please refer to the metadata published on Eurobase. The authors can be contacted at ESTAT-GFS@ec.europa.eu

Context

In the framework of the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010), Eurostat collects data on general government expenditure by economic function according to the international Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) – see methodological note.