Economía y medio ambiente en España

This book examines the relationships between economic activity and the environment in Spain over the last several decades. To do so, it employs two instruments with a solid theoretical foundation: material flows analysis (MFA) and the concept of natural capital.

Its first part uses MFA to provide data compatible with the System of National Accounts (SNA) on the environmental pressure exerted by the productive system in terms of material extraction, emissions and the disposal of waste. The results indicate that Spanish society is immersed in a process of decarbonization. In effect, since the last financial crisis, the link between economic growth and the use of materials and energy and waste generation has progressively weakened, though not so far as to produce a decoupling between the corresponding magnitudes. The data also show that Spain needs to redouble its efforts to hasten the development of the circular economy.

The second part (natural capital) takes an approach based on the monetary valuation of Spain’s natural resources, following the methodology developed by the World Bank. By this reckoning, the value of natural resources in Spain has declined since the start of the century, by a small margin in absolute terms and more steeply in per capita terms. The standouts by type of resource are the large weight of agricultural land and the growing importance over the past decades of protected natural areas. Natural capital estimates have also been drawn up for the autonomous regions, facilitating a breakdown by territorial unit.

This study will be of interest to researchers, economists and the general public interested in issues related to sustainability, the circular economy and the processes of capitalization and economic growth.