Environmental prices are constructed prices that calculate the social value of environmental pollution and express it in euros per kilogram of pollutant. Environmental prices therefore reflect the welfare losses that occur if one additional kilogram of the substance is released into the environment. These environmental prices can also be calculated for immaterial forms of pollution, such as noise pollution or radioactivity. In such cases, the environmental price is expressed in euros per unit of nuisance (measured, for example, in decibels). Environmental prices thus equal external costs in most cases.
The environmental prices in this handbook are average valuations in the EU27 for emissions from an average emission source at an average emission location in the year 2019. The Environmental Prices Handbook EU-version presents valuations for more than 500 environmentally hazardous substances at three levels: a lower and an upper value recommended for use in social cost-benefit analyses (SCBAs) and a central value that can be used by companies and in life-cycle analyses (LCAs).
CE Delft first published an Environmental Prices Handbook in 2010 (then called Shadow Pricing Handbook) for the Netherlands. The handbooks for the Netherlands were updated in 2017 and 2023. This EU-version of the Environmental Prices is methodologically based on the 2023 version for the Netherlands. This EU-version from 2024 replaces the previous handbook for the EU27 from 2018.
Simon Pápai