Total residual output flows of the economy: Methodology and application in the case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

The article goes beyond standard emission and waste statistics and elaborates upon total residual output flows of economies based on economy-wide material flow accounting and analysis (EW-MFA). This concept allows for evaluation of total environmental pressures related to material output flows and assessing the potential trade-offs if environmental policies are more successful in some fields than in others. We provide basic information on EW-MFA and its output accounts and indicators and describe in detail the methodology of their compilation. The methodology is then applied to the Czech Republic for the period 1990–2014. All major components of residual output flows, i.e. emission and waste flow, dissipative use flow and unused domestic extraction accounts, as well as domestic processed output (DPO) and total domestic output (TDO) indicators, went down in the monitored period. We identified a few major driving forces behind this decrease, including changes in the structure of the economy, changes in the structure of TPES, technological change, advances in waste management, and changes in the agricultural system of the Czech Republic. The results further indicate that another decrease in DPO and TDO indicators is at stake, as Czech economic policies are aimed at maintaining the current relatively high proportion of manufacturing industries in the economy.