Estonia’s environmental protection expenditure rose to €821 million
According to Statistics Estonia, Estonia’s environmental protection expenditure in real terms increased by nearly 56% in the period 2014–2023, that is, from €527 to €821 million. Compared with 2022, the expenditure was up by 13% in 2023. The share of environmental protection expenditure in GDP has decreased compared with 2014.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts reflect the measures and expenditures targeted at the prevention, reduction or elimination of pollution. National expenditure on environmental protection is calculated as a sum of current expenditure and capital expenditure (investments) on environmental protection activities, after deducting transfers from the rest of the world.
Grete Luukas, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, stated that nearly half of the environmental protection expenditure in 2023 was made up of expenditures on waste management (€404 million). “A large contribution to waste management was somewhat expected, as rubbish collection and waste disposal fees affect almost the entire society. In addition, it is a complex activity that has a number of stages to ensure that waste is handled properly. Waste management has been the biggest expenditure category in environmental protection in all reference years,” Luukas noted.
Other activities with significant expenditure were wastewater management and protection of soil and water with €188 million, and protection of biodiversity and landscapes with €66 million. Compared with previous years, the largest increase was seen in other environmental protection activities (€100 million), where growth was driven by increased government spending on environmental protection.
The share of environmental protection expenditure in GDP was up year on year
In 2023, environmental protection expenditure increased by 13% at current prices compared with the previous year and by 0.14 percentage points as a share in GDP. However, the share has been declining over the years – environmental protection expenditure accounted for 2.1% of GDP in 2023, down from 2.6% in 2014.
Luukas pointed out that Estonia has dropped lower among European Union countries based on this indicator: Estonia was ranked fifth in 2018 but is now below the EU average. “However, in 2022, Estonia retained its previous year's position in the ranking,” the analyst added. Data for 2023 are not yet available for comparison across countries.
A third of the environmental protection investments were made in protection of soil and water and wastewater management
In 2023, there were €154 million worth of investments in assets required for environmental protection or provision of environmental services (e.g. water treatment plants, waste management facilities, waste transport vehicles, and equipment and filters).
One third of the environmental protection investments in 2023 were made in wastewater management and protection of soil (€56 million). Owners of wastewater facilities have built, developed and renovated sewerage systems and made other investments in fixed assets. €34 million were invested in waste management and €19 million in the protection of biodiversity and landscapes.
Foreign subsidies decreased
Foreign subsidies for environmental protection in Estonia amounted to €38 million, which is 38% less than in 2022. “The decline in subsidies was primarily due to the end of some large subsidy programs,” Luukas explained.
In 2023, the greatest amount of foreign subsidies was received for wastewater management and protection of soil and water (€11 million) – used to fund various sewerage projects, elimination of residual pollution, construction of manure storage facilities, and so on.
Foreign subsidies were also received for the protection of biodiversity and landscapes. The funded projects included the maintenance of semi-natural communities and improving the situation of protected species and habitats. Transfers from the rest of the world represent nearly 5% of Estonia’s contribution to environmental protection.
Environmental protection expenditure accounts are prepared in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 691/2011 on European environmental economic accounts. The regulation ensures the comparability and consistency of national data.
When analysing environmental protection expenditure data, it should be remembered that the environmental protection expenditure accounts exclude any activities related to resource management (such as energy production from renewable sources, energy efficiency, forest management) and the expenditures associated with these activities are not included in national environmental protection expenditure. For more information about the value added and employment in the environmental goods and services sector, see the news release.
Data as at 15 December are published. The indicator values may change if there are any revisions made in the data sources after this date.
See also the dedicated section on environmental protection funding on our website and compare international data. More detailed data have been published in the statistical database.
When using Statistics Estonia’s data and graphs, please indicate the source.
For further information:
Kaia-Liisa Tabri
Communication Partner
Marketing and Dissemination Department
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 5196 9617
press [at] stat.ee (press[at]stat[dot]ee)