Elton - Governments investing in nature - Cost sharing and benefits modelling analysis

This cost-sharing and benefits model is Supplementary File 1 accompanying the peer-reviewed journal article by Elton et al., "Governments investing in nature: cost-sharing and the benefits of public investment in biodiversity conservation" (under review). The model is the analytical tool used to generate the study's estimates of the uplift in public funding required from each of Australia's nine governments to deliver the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and of the benefits that investment would generate. Detailed documentation of the model's methods, structure, and inputs is provided in the accompanying research methods report (Supplementary File 2). The model takes as its starting point the total cost of GBF delivery in Australia estimated in Elton et al., "Costing Global Biodiversity Framework delivery in megadiverse Australia," and its associated cost model (Supplementary File 1 to that article, https://doi.org/10.25911/4hn5-3p77). The model is a Microsoft Excel workbook structured around two analytical components. The first is the cost-sharing analysis, which estimates extant public, private, and philanthropic biodiversity expenditure, deducts it from total GBF delivery costs to derive the national funding shortfall, and allocates that shortfall between the Australian Government and the state and territory governments under two options. Option A assigns the entire shortfall to the Commonwealth, reflecting its constitutional spending authority and its accountability as treaty signatory. Option B, the comprehensive model applied in the study, allocates primary funding responsibility for each GBF cost item between levels of government on the basis of constitutional authority and international accountability, constrains state and territory contributions to their proportional revenue-raising capacity derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics taxation revenue data, and meets residual requirements through Commonwealth fiscal transfers. The cost-sharing analysis is supported by two sheets estimating extant public funding: an original analysis by the author covering all nine jurisdictions, and an analysis of Australian Government expenditure prepared by the Biodiversity Council and reproduced with attribution. The second component is the benefits analysis. Socio-economic benefits are estimated using a direct-effects input–output approach consistent with the Australian System of National Accounts, applying employment, household-income, and value-added intensity coefficients derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics input–output tables and labour account data to the recurrent expenditure items in the cost model, with the socio-economic activity supported by extant funding deducted to yield net estimates. Carbon sequestration revenues are estimated from the sequestration potential of biodiverse restoration of degraded ecosystems, applying IPCC carbon-fraction and molecular-weight conversion factors and two indicative carbon-price scenarios. These calculations are supported by sheets containing Clean Energy Regulator Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme project register data and the Australian Bureau of Statistics input–output and labour account coefficients. All values are expressed in real 2025 Australian dollars. The model is designed for use by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. The model was developed by Paul Elton, PhD Candidate, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society (July 2026).
Type
collection
Title
Elton - Governments investing in nature - Cost sharing and benefits modelling analysis
Brief Title
Elton - Governments investing in nature - Cost sharing and benefits modelling analysis
Collection Type
Dataset
Access Privileges
Fenner School of Environment & Society
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
10.25911/94tr-df86
Metadata Language
English
Data Language
English
Brief Description
This cost-sharing and benefits model is Supplementary File 1 accompanying the peer-reviewed journal article by Elton et al., "Governments investing in nature: cost-sharing and the benefits of public investment in biodiversity conservation" (under review). The model is the analytical tool used to generate the study's estimates of the uplift in public funding required from each of Australia's nine governments to deliver the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and of the socio-economic and carbon sequestration benefits that investment would generate.
Full Description
This cost-sharing and benefits model is Supplementary File 1 accompanying the peer-reviewed journal article by Elton et al., "Governments investing in nature: cost-sharing and the benefits of public investment in biodiversity conservation" (under review). The model is the analytical tool used to generate the study's estimates of the uplift in public funding required from each of Australia's nine governments to deliver the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), and of the benefits that investment would generate. Detailed documentation of the model's methods, structure, and inputs is provided in the accompanying research methods report (Supplementary File 2). The model takes as its starting point the total cost of GBF delivery in Australia estimated in Elton et al., "Costing Global Biodiversity Framework delivery in megadiverse Australia," and its associated cost model (Supplementary File 1 to that article, https://doi.org/10.25911/4hn5-3p77). The model is a Microsoft Excel workbook structured around two analytical components. The first is the cost-sharing analysis, which estimates extant public, private, and philanthropic biodiversity expenditure, deducts it from total GBF delivery costs to derive the national funding shortfall, and allocates that shortfall between the Australian Government and the state and territory governments under two options. Option A assigns the entire shortfall to the Commonwealth, reflecting its constitutional spending authority and its accountability as treaty signatory. Option B, the comprehensive model applied in the study, allocates primary funding responsibility for each GBF cost item between levels of government on the basis of constitutional authority and international accountability, constrains state and territory contributions to their proportional revenue-raising capacity derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics taxation revenue data, and meets residual requirements through Commonwealth fiscal transfers. The cost-sharing analysis is supported by two sheets estimating extant public funding: an original analysis by the author covering all nine jurisdictions, and an analysis of Australian Government expenditure prepared by the Biodiversity Council and reproduced with attribution. The second component is the benefits analysis. Socio-economic benefits are estimated using a direct-effects input–output approach consistent with the Australian System of National Accounts, applying employment, household-income, and value-added intensity coefficients derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics input–output tables and labour account data to the recurrent expenditure items in the cost model, with the socio-economic activity supported by extant funding deducted to yield net estimates. Carbon sequestration revenues are estimated from the sequestration potential of biodiverse restoration of degraded ecosystems, applying IPCC carbon-fraction and molecular-weight conversion factors and two indicative carbon-price scenarios. These calculations are supported by sheets containing Clean Energy Regulator Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme project register data and the Australian Bureau of Statistics input–output and labour account coefficients. All values are expressed in real 2025 Australian dollars. The model is designed for use by researchers, practitioners, and policy makers. The model was developed by Paul Elton, PhD Candidate, ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society (July 2026).
Contact Email
paul.elton@anu.edu.au
Contact Address
The Australian National University, Canberra
Contact Phone Number
0408213508
Principal Investigator
Paul Elton
Supervisors
Sarah Clement
Fields of Research
460105 - Applications in social sciences and education
Socio-Economic Objective
1902 - Environmental policy, legislation and standards
Keywords
Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), biodiversity finance, public funding, cost-sharing, federalism, environmental policy, Australia
Date Coverage
2025
2025
Geospatial Location
Australia
Date of data creation
2026
Year of data publication
2026
Creator(s) for Citation
Paul
Elton
Publisher for Citation
The Australian National University Data Commons
Access Rights
Open Access Allowed
Access Rights Type
Open
Licence Type
CC-BY - Attribution
Retention Period
Indefinitely
Extent or Quantity
1
Data Size
4.19MB
Data Management Plan
No

Download data files

Number of files: 1

Size: 4.19 MB

Identifier: anudc:6495

Status: Published
Published to:
  • Australian National University
  • Australian National Data Service
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