Quantitative assessment of sustainable development requires accounting for the depletion and degradation of natural resources and other environmental impacts of economic development. The United Nations System of Integrated Economic and Environmental Accounting (SEEA) provides a system that links economic activities to changes in the environment and natural resources.
SEEA has guided the development of environmental accounts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This paper describes how SEEA can be used to assess different aspects and different concepts of sustainable development. This is demonstrated with Australian examples.
