Green budgeting as a first step seeks to serve as an accounting tool for reporting environmentally beneficial and an environment promoting expenditure and policy actions that can help inform stakeholders on: Who spends (which government department) money on what environment promoting activities, how much do they spend, and for which aspect do they spend. It is important to flag here the limitations of green budgeting as a tool.

The analysis of the budget expenditures is not sufficient to evaluate the compliance with national/international environment goals/commitments.

Analysis of only positive expenditures does not tell the full story.

Environmental regulations are not included in the scope of the budget

A large part of the government expenditure may be to stimulate private sector expenditure.

The green budget does not evaluate the efficiency of environmental expenditure.

The limitations, however, cannot take away the advantages of such an exercise. This exercise has the potential to bring together work streams on climate change, biodiversity, sustainable energy, sustainable urbanization, responsible consumption and production, ecosystems, environmental policy, budgeting, and tax policy, and inclusive sustainable growth. Agreed definitions and methodologies can support national and sub-national level green budgeting which can help improve synergy and coordination between national and sub-national policy design. This can also support international reporting obligations along with serving as a feedback mechanism for existing initiatives.