Environment Statistics
In recent decades, there has been increasing recognition of the status of the local and global environment which explains the rising number of statistical data collections reporting on ecosystems, biodiversity, climate change and usage of natural resources.
One of the most important statistics is the so called "Keeling Curve", visualising the rising carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere (for some scientists the dawn of a new geological era called Anthropocene, where humans are the predominant driver of change at a planetary level):
Definition
"The environment is the totality of all the external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism." Source: OECD, Paris
Special statistical collection: Global Environmental Database (GED)
GED brings together widespread statistics for up to 280 countries on the environmental issues affecting our climate, our resources, our social communities:
- detailed data on energy consumption and emissions from fuel combustion
- air pollution, water resources, land use, agriculture, farming, forestry and fishery
- human resources (population, education, skills)
- social conditions (health, sanitation, poverty, natural disasters)
- economic core indicators (GDP, production, trade, exchange rates)
GED is an indispensible source to
- identify trends across different countries
- compare one country's environmental situation and policies with another
- find out which countries are making efforts to protect their environment
References
Official Keeling Curve website, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
Recommended Readings
"Climate Change and Development" by the World Bank Group research
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