Method

Environmental Prices

Environmental prices are indices expressing the social cost of environmental emissions and other interventions in Euros per kilo pollutant or similar units, for noise for example. They indicate the willingness-to-pay for preventing pollution and other unwanted impacts. The lookup tool can be accessed via the link. It provides monetary values for emissions of over 2,500 substances. The prices are per kilo emission in 2015 Euros and differ per country and region. The most recent Environmental Prices can be found in our 2018 update of EU28 prices. See also the values specific for the Netherlands.

In these Handbooks these prices are presented at three levels:

  • At pollutant level: a value for emissions of environmentally damaging substances.
  • At midpoint level: a value for environmental themes such as climate change or acidification.
  • At endpoint level: a value for the impacts of environmental pollution, such as damage to human health or ecosystem services.

The methodology used in the CE Delft Environmental Prices Handbook is designed to harmonize the values at pollutant, midpoint and endpoint level, to achieve consistent valuation of environmental impacts.

The method has been applied in quantifying the external costs of air pollution from transport in the Handbook on the External costs of Transport. The methodological background paper Further explanation of methods used for monetizing impacts from air pollution sheds some more light on certain choices made in quantifying the external costs of air pollutants.

Environmental prices in LCA software SimaPro

Environmental prices are also used to weigh the results of various environmental effects into a single score (single score). Environmental prices are included as weighting factors in the LCA software package SimaPro.

Environmental prices tool

Environmental prices are indices for calculating the price to society of environmental pollution and expressing it in euros per kilogram pollutant. Environmental prices thus represent society’s willingness-to-pay for avoiding pollution. The tool below gives the environmental prices of over 2,500 substances, for emissions from an average emission source at an average location in the Netherlands in the year 2015, expressed as €/kg emission, in 2015 prices. The pollutants should be entered in English (in full, unabbreviated) or using the international 9-digit CAS code. For guidelines on how to use these prices, we refer to our Environmental Prices Handbook 2017.