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Behind the data on climate change: What can environmental indicators tell us?
Environmental indicators are simple measurements that tell us what is happening in our environment. Due to the complexity of environments, using metrics provides a more practical and economical way to track the state of an environment than trying to record all possible environment variables. For example, tracking the concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere over time is a good indicator of stratospheric ozone depletion.
“An environmental indicator is a numerical value that provides insight into the state of the environment or human health. These indicators are developed based on quantitative measurements or statistics of environmental conditions and tracked over time.”
Definitions of environmental indicators vary, but common themes are: indicators describe the state of the environment and its impacts on people, ecosystems and materials, pressures on the environment, drivers and their responses. These indicators go through some sort of selection or aggregation process to make them actionable.
Classification of environmental indicators
Environmental indicators are used and presented according to different criteria and frameworks. For example, according to the Pressure-State-Response Model developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), environmental indicators can be divided into several main subsets. One subset is ecological indicators, which include physical, biological and chemical measurements such as atmospheric temperature, ozone concentration in the stratosphere or the number of breeding birds in a region. These are also called "status indicators" because their focus is on the state or condition of the environment.
The second subset is measures of human activity or anthropogenic pressures, such as greenhouse gas emissions, which are also called "pressure indicators." Finally, there are indicators that track society’s response to environmental issues, such as the number of people served by sewage treatment.
“Environmental indicators should be viewed as a subset of sustainable development indicators, which are intended to track the overall sustainability of society in terms of its environmental, social and economic integrity and health.”
How to conduct an assessment
Recently, some have attempted to use indicators to monitor and assess the state of the Earth. Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute said: "Environmentally speaking, the world is overspent. If we use environmental indicators to assess the situation, then the natural support systems of the entire economy are failing, and this environmental failure will lead to economic and social collapse."
Environmental indicators are also used by companies as part of their environmental management systems. The EU's Environmental Management and Audit Scheme provides core indicators or performance indicators (KPIs) that registered organizations can use to measure their environmental performance and monitor continuous improvement towards set targets.
Audience and their needs
The type of indicator chosen or developed should be based in part on who will use the information. There are generally three possible audiences, each with different needs:
- Technical experts and scientific advisors
- Policy makers, decision makers and resource managers
- Public and media
Technologists and scientists will be interested in detailed and complex indicators that are scientifically valid, sensitive, responsive, and require data from past situations. Policymakers and resource managers value indicators that are directly related to evaluating policies and goals. They also need data, but not only pursue sensitivity and responsiveness, but also hope that these indicators are cost-effective and meaningful to the public.
Finally, the public is more likely to understand indicators that have clear, simple information and are meaningful to them, such as the UV Index and the Air Quality Index.
Indicator system and its communication method
Individual indicators are designed to represent a specific phenomenon (e.g., ambient air quality) by translating complex information into a simple and understandable way. In contrast, an indicator system (or set of indicators) as a whole is intended to provide an assessment of the entire environmental domain or a major subset of it (e.g., forests). Many indicator systems have evolved to include multiple indicators and require a certain level of knowledge and expertise to fully understand. Recently, a number of methods have been proposed to simplify the information so that users who do not have the time or expertise to perform analysis can quickly understand these indicators.
“These approaches can generally be divided into quantitative aggregations (e.g. indicators), short selections of indicators (e.g. core sets or focus indicators), short visual assessments (e.g. arrows, traffic signals), and eye-catching displays (e.g. maps or sustainability dashboards).”
Many well-known environmental indicator systems have adjusted their indicator systems to include or report only limited “indicator sets”, such as the OECD’s “Key Environmental Indicators” and the “Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators”. In the current context of climate change challenges, how should we effectively use these environmental indicators to promote sustainable development?
