The measurement of spending on environmental protection to assess the performance, efficiency and impact of policies, plans, programs and economic instruments for environmental management. However, to measure progress and make adjustments to environmental policies is necessary that these measurements will be systematic, continuous and standardized. In Latin America and the Caribbean there are experiences of calculating environmental protection expenditure in the public sector, although most have not endured over time. The greatest difficulties in measuring this spending are associated with the lack of uniformity of concepts and classifications, double counting and the few existing administrative records.
To address these challenges a computer framework, based on international standards, which would strengthen the technical capacities of countries and calculate expenditure on environmental protection regularly needed. Therefore, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) of Mexico have developed this methodological guide, in order to support the efforts of the countries linked to the generation and dissemination Official statistics on expenditure on environmental protection.