IRES Chapter I — Introduction

Chapter I (PDF pp. 14–29) lays the foundation for the whole publication: why energy statistics matter, who IRES is for, where it came from, what it covers chapter by chapter, and how its recommendations should be read and revised.

Overview (paras 1.1–1.3)

Energy is fundamental to socio-economic development, and reliable, timely energy statistics are indispensable for sound decision-making, which in turn requires internationally agreed standards and dissemination mechanisms [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.1–1.2, PDF p. 14, 2018]. IRES’s overarching goal is to provide such standards and guidance — covering concepts and definitions, classifications, data sources, data compilation methods, institutional arrangements, data quality assurance, metadata and dissemination policies [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.2, PDF p. 14, 2018].

IRES targets six user groups: (a) national compilers of energy statistics, (b) compilers of other statistics, (c) policymakers, (d) international and regional organizations, (e) research institutions and energy analysts, and (f) the general public [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.3(a)–(f), PDF pp. 14–15, 2018].

A. Background (paras 1.4–1.12)

The United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) discussed energy statistics as part of economic statistics from its inception, putting it on the agenda as a separate item after the energy crisis of the early 1970s and requesting a special report [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.4, PDF p. 15, 2018]. The resulting 1976 Secretary-General report led the Commission, at its 19th session, to prioritize a system of integrated energy statistics, adopt energy balances as the key coordination instrument, and recommend a standard international classification for energy statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.5, PDF p. 15, 2018].

Following up, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) prepared a report on basic concepts and methods, welcomed by the Commission at its 20th session (1979) for circulation; UNSD issued it in 1982 as Concepts and Methods in Energy Statistics. At its 24th session (1987) the Commission also recommended a handbook on conversion factors and units, which UNSD published later that year as Energy Statistics: Definitions, Units of Measure and Conversion Factors [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.6, PDF p. 15, 2018]. UNSD followed with Energy Statistics: A Manual for Developing Countries (1991), complemented in 2004 by the OECD/IEA/Eurostat Energy Statistics Manual for OECD/EU joint questionnaire compilation [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.7, PDF p. 15, 2018].

At its 36th session (2005), the Commission undertook a programme review based on a Statistics Norway report (E/CN.3/2005/3) and recognized the need to develop energy statistics as official statistics and revise the existing recommendations [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.8, PDF p. 15, 2018]. A May 2005 UNSD ad hoc expert group recommended two complementary bodies: a city group and an inter-secretariat working group [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.9, PDF p. 16, 2018]. At its 37th session (2006), the Commission established the Oslo Group on Energy Statistics (convened by Statistics Norway) and the Intersecretariat Working Group on Energy Statistics (InterEnerStat) (convened by the IEA); the Oslo Group focused on IRES’s conceptual framework and compilation/dissemination strategies, while InterEnerStat focused on harmonizing definitions of energy products and flows [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.10, PDF p. 16, 2018]. IRES is the product of close cooperation between UNSD, the Oslo Group and InterEnerStat [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.10, PDF p. 16, 2018].

Developed in parallel, the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Energy (SEEA-Energy) is a complementary, coordinated document that builds on IRES’s data items, product classification and flow definitions; the relationship is elaborated further in Chapter XI [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.11, PDF p. 16, 2018]. IRES itself was adopted as a statistical standard by the Commission at its 42nd session, February 2011 [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.12, PDF p. 16, 2018].

B. Purpose of IRES (paras 1.13–1.23)

IRES’s main purpose is to strengthen energy statistics as part of official statistics, making them more consistent with other standard international classifications of activities and products (ISIC, CPC, HS) and with recommendations for other economic statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.13, PDF p. 16, 2018]. It serves as a reference for national programme development, offering a common but flexible framework usable regardless of a country’s statistical-system maturity [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.14, PDF p. 16, 2018]. Countries are expected to comply with IRES definitions/classifications and follow its collection, compilation, quality and dissemination guidance, but retain flexibility in scoping their own programmes and institutional arrangements [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.15, PDF p. 17, 2018].

See Official Statistics for the chapter’s treatment of what “official statistics” means, the UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (Box 1.1), and why energy statistics should attain that status [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.16–1.22, PDF pp. 17–18, 2018].

Section B closes with the specific needs the 2011 revision addresses: (a) new developments in energy markets/technology; (b) topics not previously addressed, such as data compilation strategies, quality, metadata and dissemination; (c) definitions, data sources and compilation methods amid more complex, globalized energy markets; (d) an integrated approach harmonized with ISIC/CPC/HS, the International Recommendations for Industrial Statistics, the forthcoming SEEA-Energy, and the UN Framework Classification for Energy and Mineral Resources; (e) flexibility in which national agency holds responsibility for official energy statistics; and (f) uniform international reporting for global challenges (sustainable development, energy security, climate change) [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.23(a)–(f), PDF pp. 18–19, 2018].

C. Users and uses of energy statistics (paras 1.24–1.30)

Energy statistics broadly cover (i) extraction, production, transformation, distribution, storage, trade and final consumption of energy products and (ii) the main characteristics and activities of energy industries — full scope is defined in Chapter II [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.24, PDF p. 19, 2018]. Six user groups and their needs are described:

• Energy policymakers — formulating and monitoring energy policy and its economic impact, monitoring national energy security, planning energy industry development and energy-conserving technologies, and supporting environmental policy and GHG inventories [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.25(a)–(d), PDF pp. 19–20, 2018].
• Business community — evaluating business options, investment opportunities and energy market trends [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.26, PDF p. 20, 2018].
• Compilers and users of national accounts — basic economic statistics needed for the national accounts’ full economic picture [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.27, PDF p. 20, 2018].
• Compilers of SEEA-Energy — energy statistics are the basis for SEEA-Energy accounts integrating them with economic statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.28, PDF p. 20, 2018].
• International organizations — monitoring global energy/environment developments, subject to international reporting obligations [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.29, PDF p. 20, 2018].
• General public — evaluating energy/environmental situations and energy policy options [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.30, PDF p. 20, 2018].

D. IRES development process (paras 1.31–1.34)

The revision process comprised an annotated outline for worldwide consultation, the International Workshop on Energy Statistics (Mexico, 2–5 December 2008), review of draft recommendations by the Oslo Group’s 4th and 5th meetings, a worldwide consultation on the provisional draft, and review/endorsement by the 2nd meeting of the United Nations Expert Group on Energy Statistics (EGES) (New York, 2–5 November 2010) [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.31, PDF p. 21, 2018]. The Oslo Group (secretariat: Statistics Norway) and InterEnerStat (chaired by the IEA) were the key content providers under their UNSC mandates; the London Group and the United Nations Expert Group on International Economic and Social Classifications were also consulted [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.32, PDF p. 21, 2018]. UNSD coordinated worldwide consultations, provided substantive input, and consolidated/edited successive drafts [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.33, PDF p. 21, 2018].

The Oslo Group’s five guiding principles for drafting IRES: (a) prioritize major user-group needs; (b) consult closely with national statistical offices, national energy agencies and relevant international/supranational organizations; (c) ensure recommended data items are practically collectible without excessive reporting burden, and implementable for cross-country comparability; (d) promote an integrated national statistical system via harmonized concepts, classifications and methods; and (e) defer practical/technical guidance to the forthcoming Energy Statistics Compilers Manual (ESCM), with the Oslo Group deciding ESCM’s coverage [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.34(a)–(e), PDF p. 21, 2018].

E. Structure of IRES (paras 1.35–1.47)

IRES has eleven chapters plus three annexes [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.35, PDF p. 21, 2018]:

• I. Introduction — background, objectives, target audience, content outline [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.36, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• II. Scope of energy statistics — defines scope via energy products, flows, reference territory, energy industries, consumers, resources and reserves [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.37, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• III. Standard International Energy Product Classification (SIEC) — hierarchical classification of energy products, coding system, and relationships to HS 2007 and CPC Ver. 2; primary/secondary and renewable/non-renewable characterization in Annex A [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.38, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• IV. Measurement units and conversion factors — physical units, common units, calorific-value calculation/reporting, default calorific values [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.39, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• V. Energy flows — production, transformation, non-energy use, final consumption, etc.; main groups of economic units [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.40, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• VI. Statistical units and data items — statistical units and the reference list of data items for collection [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.41, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• VII. Data collection and compilation — institutional/legal framework, data collection strategies, data sources, compilation methods; detailed estimation/imputation deferred to ESCM [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.42, PDF p. 22, 2018].
• VIII. Energy balances — role of energy balances, compilation recommendations, presentation of supply/transformation/consumption [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.43, PDF p. 23, 2018].
• IX. Data quality assurance and metadata — quality dimensions, national quality framework, indicators, metadata [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.44, PDF p. 23, 2018].
• X. Dissemination — confidentiality, data access, release schedules, revisions, dissemination formats, international reporting [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.45, PDF p. 23, 2018].
• XI. Uses of basic energy statistics and balances — uses for SEEA-Energy compilation, indicators (social/economic/environmental), GHG statistics [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.46, PDF p. 23, 2018].
• Annexes — (A) SIEC products as primary/secondary and renewable/non-renewable; (B) conversion factors, calorific values, measurement units; plus a bibliography [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.47, PDF p. 23, 2018].

F. Summary of recommendations (para 1.48; Table 1.1)

Table 1.1 (PDF pp. 24–28) collects the main recommendations and encouragements from every chapter of IRES, flagging that correct interpretation of any single row generally requires the full chapter text [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.48, PDF p. 23, 2018]. This ingest pass covers only Chapter I’s own rows; all other chapters’ rows are forward references, tracked for later ingest in meta/recommendations-tracker.md.

Chapter I’s rows in Table 1.1:

Para	Recommendation/encouragement
1.17	Countries are encouraged to advance from collecting selected data items for internal agency use to an integrated system of multipurpose official energy statistics [IRES, Ch. I, Table 1.1, para. 1.17, PDF p. 24, 2018].
1.20	It is recommended that international organizations play an active role in IRES implementation, including preparing training materials and organizing regional workshops [IRES, Ch. I, Table 1.1, para. 1.20, PDF p. 24, 2018].
1.22	It is recommended that official energy statistics be treated as a public good, with disseminating agencies ensuring convenient public access [IRES, Ch. I, Table 1.1, para. 1.22, PDF p. 24, 2018].
1.49	The recommendations should be implemented by countries in a way appropriate to their own circumstances, user needs, resources, priorities and respondent burden [IRES, Ch. I, Table 1.1, para. 1.49, PDF p. 24, 2018].

G. Implementation and revision policy (paras 1.49–1.51)

Countries implement IRES according to their own circumstances; the ESCM will carry additional practical guidance and is envisaged to be updated more frequently than IRES [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.49, PDF p. 28, 2018]. See Recommendations and Encouragements for the chapter’s governing distinction between “recommended” (a standard countries should comply with) and “encouraged” (a desirable but non-mandatory practice), and for issues not explicitly covered, where countries are encouraged to develop and document their own treatment [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.50, PDF p. 28, 2018]. The IRES updating process treats editorial amendments/clarifications as UNSD’s responsibility, while substantive changes are discussed with countries and working groups before endorsement by the EGES and submission to the UNSC for adoption [IRES, Ch. I, para. 1.51, PDF p. 28, 2018].

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