Physical accounts

Physical accounts cover those material and energy flows that run through an economy within a given period of time, as well as all material assets of that economy. Accordingly, a distinction is made between flow and asset accounts.

In Austria, physical flow accounts include material flow accounts and their analysis, energy accounts, air emission accounts, water accounts and waste accounts.

Physical asset accounts are currently not compiled in Austria.

Material flow accounts and analysis

Material flow accounts are a harmonised, EU-wide method covering the total flows of raw materials found in nature and of goods from abroad into a society, as well as changes of capital assets within a society and the release of wastes and emissions to nature or exports to other national economies.

Energy accounts and physical energy flow accounts (PEFA)

Energy accounts present the supply and use of energy by people living in Austria, and by companies and institutions registered in Austria, in the form of physical and energy units, regardless of where in the world they consume the energy.

Air emissions accounts

Air emissions accounts present flows of gaseous materials and particles (greenhouse gases including CO₂ and air pollutants) that are generated by the national economy and released into the atmosphere.

Water accounts

Water accounts describe primarily the physical transfers of water between the natural water resources (e.g. groundwater, rivers and lakes) and individual economic sectors. Apart from the quantities of water, water accounts show the pollutant loads of selected emissions in water bodies for each sector.

Waste accounts

In waste accounts, the generation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste is allocated to individual sources (private households, economic sectors).