This chapter provides important background for understanding the measurement of natural resources in the national accounts and presents the main advancements included in the 2025 SNA.
Measuring Natural Resources in the National Accounts
A Compilation Guide
Abstract
31. This chapter provides important background for understanding the measurement of natural resources in the national accounts and presents the main advancements included in the 2025 SNA. Measurement is used in this guide as a broad term covering the conceptualisation (definitions and classifications), physical measurement and monetary valuation of natural resources.1
32. As a starting point, it is helpful to look at where natural resources are classified in the national accounts. As shown in Figure 2-1, the 2025 SNA brings together all natural resources that were scattered across various non-financial asset classes into a single overarching class. This is intended to emphasise the importance given to natural resources in the 2025 SNA and make it easier for policy makers and other users to find information on this topic in one place.
Source: Author.
Notes: * Includes both work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products (e.g. growing crops, immature animals for slaughter) and work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources yielding repeat products (e.g. immature orchards, immature milk-cows). ** CAWLM = crypto assets without a corresponding liability designed to act as a medium of exchange. *** The value of renewable energy resources is now explicitly identified. This value may have been included (in part) in the 2008 SNA under land.
33. In the 2008 SNA, cultivated biological resources (yielding repeat products) were under the heading produced non-financial assets along with fixed assets such as machinery and equipment, while work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources was grouped with inventories. All other natural resource classes, including non-cultivated biological resources, were presented under non-produced non-financial assets. In the 2025 SNA, all natural resources are grouped together and shown separately from the other two non-financial asset classes, namely produced non-financial assets (excluding natural resources) and non-produced non-financial assets (excluding natural resources). Although all natural resources are now grouped together, the distinction between produced and non-produced is still fundamental, because of the different accounting treatment.
34. There are different possibilities when it comes to the ownership of natural resources, with the 2025 SNA splitting assets in case the economic ownership is shared (see Section 3.6). In all cases however “the total value of the natural resource should be recorded against the relevant class of natural resource, such as land or mineral and energy resources” (2025 SNA, §27.20). As a result, in the 2025 SNA there no longer exists a category for Permits to use natural resources under Contracts, leases and licenses. The value of permits to use natural resources is not separately recorded to avoid double counting, with the exception of radio spectra. To remain consistent with the 2008 SNA treatment of radio spectra, a class Permits to use natural resources (AN392) has been created under Other natural resources (AN39) to allow recording the value of permits related to radio spectra. Greenhouse gas emissions permits are not considered natural resources and are to be recorded as financial assets (other accounts receivable/payable) with taxes on production (recorded at surrender, valued at issuance prices) in the 2025 SNA. Emissions permits are therefore out of the scope of this guide.
35. Having established where natural resources will be classified in the SNA, it is important to consider the approach to measuring natural resources, which is an accounting approach. Other well-known approaches are cost-benefit analysis (that usually includes also an environmental dimension) and measuring natural resources in terms of their “total economic value”. What these approaches have in common is that they analyse value in terms of welfare value. This is fundamentally different from the national accounts, which measure exchange value. Section 2.2 will therefore discuss fundamental differences between accounting approaches employed in the SNA and environmental or welfare economics.
36. Section 2.3 will clarify the relationship between the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting as statistical standard for describing the interrelationship between economy and environment, and the SNA. The chapter then discusses in detail the key recommendations pertaining to natural resources that form the point of departure of the compilation guide, including their rationale (Section 2.4). The final Section 2.5 of the chapter introduces the 2025 SNA asset classification in detail, which underpins this guide.
37. When it comes to the measurement and more specifically the valuation of natural resource there are clear differences between environmental economics and national accounts.
38. Environmental economics has a foundation in utility theory and usually assesses the relationship between the economy and environment in terms of welfare. An important concept in thinking about the interrelationship is that of externalities. Externalities are the indirect costs or benefits caused by one person or entity (e.g. a business) but incurred by a third party. Externalities are not reflected in existing market transactions and can be negative (e.g. pollution) or positive (e.g. ecosystem services/natural resources provided for free). Environmental policies are sometimes designed with the objective of internalising externalities. For instance, a negative externality can be internalised by setting taxes at the level of the externalities. Likewise, positive externalities can be internalised by introducing payments for ecosystem services schemes. When externalities are internalised, it is common to speak about valuation at shadow prices.2 Well-known examples of this approach are the inclusive wealth approach by UNEP (2023[1]) and the Dasgupta review on the economics of biodiversity (2021[2]).
39. Another (related) approach to measuring natural resources associated with, among others, Pearce and Turner (1990[3]) consists of the total economic value (TEV) framework or taxonomy, which values a resource as a sum total of their use values (distinguishing between direct, indirect and option values), and non-use values (consisting of existence and bequest values).3 For instance, a forest may be directly used for producing timber and indirectly for leisure, but its mere existence may also provide value to people who may never visit the forest.
40. The notion of externalities is however not part of national accounts frameworks. The national accounts are a bookkeeping system in which the same transaction (or flow) is recorded multiple times, but always with the same (exchange) value. This is evident in the supply and use tables where the value of the supply is equal to the use. Another way to describe this is to say that the accounts exclude any consumer surplus that may arise in transactions between units. They are restricted to measuring costs, the producer surplus (which essentially means value added), and total revenue (price times quantity). Likewise “in applying the concept of exchange value, the SNA and the SEEA limit the scope of measurement to what are commonly called “use” or “instrumental” values” (2025 SNA, §35.102).
41. The SNA explains clearly that it should not be interpreted as a system for measuring welfare or well-being, rather its intent is to measure economic activity (2025 SNA, §1.9). Most economic activities may have a positive correlation with welfare, however some (commonly referred to as defensive expenditures such as defence, or health) may not. On the other hand, as explained in Chapters 2, 35 and 36, the 2025 SNA as accounting system contains a wealth of information that allows to support measurement of well-being and sustainability. Furthermore, while there are clear differences in the level of economic activity depending on whether one uses welfare values or exchange values, as shown by Fenichel et al. (2024[4]) changes in the exchange value of real wealth (when using proper volume indices) can align with Hicksian welfare measures, allowing to bridge welfare and exchange value under certain circumstances.
42. Another key distinction between accounting and other measurement approaches is that accounting is always ex post: the accounts describe what actually happened. This is fundamentally different from many forms of (environmental) analysis that are ex ante: they assess different policy scenarios in terms of what would happen given certain assumptions, such as cost-benefit analysis. This is not to say that accounts never use projections: a common way to value natural resources consists in applying the Net Present Value (NPV) method of calculating asset values based on future economic benefits for which we need to come up with projections of resource rents.4 However, these projections are typically made based on extrapolations of past observations; they are not built up from models that include optimising agents or other assumed behaviour.
2.3.1. Complementary standards
43. The SNA and SEEA can be considered as complementary statistical standards each with own purpose and policy uses. The SEEA consist of the SEEA Central Framework (United Nations et al., 2014[5]) and the SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (United Nations et al., 2014[5]).5 The main purpose of the SNA is to measure economic activity and to inform economic analysis and decision-making.6 The main purpose of the SEEA CF is to measure the interrelationship between the economy and the environment in both directions (United Nations et al., 2014, p. 13[5]): how the economy depends on inputs of natural resources, and at the same time, how economic activities (production, consumption and accumulation) impact the environment in terms of exerting pressures through residuals such as emissions (to air, water and soil). The SEEA CF also measures environmentally related activities and transactions, by cross-classifying transactions in the SNA according to whether they have an environmental dimension, such as accounts for environmental taxes or subsidies. The main objective of the SEEA EA is to account for ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide in a manner aligned with national accounts principles. The SEEA EA covers ecosystem extent and condition accounts that describe the spatial areas and quality of ecosystem assets (in physical units), ecosystem services accounts (in physical and monetary units) that describe the contributions ecosystems make to benefits used in economic activity and other human activity, and ecosystem asset accounts (in monetary units) that measure ecosystem wealth.
44. The first version of the SEEA handbook (United Nations, 1993[6]) was primarily framed as measurement system for sustainable development with focus on monetary valuation of natural resources and adjusting macro-economic aggregates (“green GDP”). Leading up to the 2003 SEEA and culminating with the adoption of the SEEA CF, the focus shifted and broadened towards modules on environmental protection expenditure as well as physical accounts measuring both stocks such as timber or subsoil assets and flows such as air emission accounts. Later, the SEEA EA was the result of both technical advancement (e.g. in geospatial data and modelling) as well as an emerging policy interest in biodiversity and ecosystems. Therefore, the uses of SEEA have broadened towards measuring the circular economy, climate change and biodiversity.
45. While Chapter 29 of the 2008 SNA referred to the 2003 version of the SEEA as having satellite account status, the SEEA CF (United Nations et al., 2014[5]) has become meanwhile one of the “major macroeconomic statistical standards that complement the SNA” (2025 SNA, §1.81) and therefore a system on par with the SNA. The 2025 SNA places greater emphasis on well-being and sustainability than the 2008 SNA, and discusses the SEEA in Chapters 2, 35 and 36. As will be discussed in Section 2.4, the 2025 SNA has adopted several of the recommendations of the SEEA CF, most importantly the treatment of depletion as a cost of production and the split asset approach.
46. Although the SNA and SEEA have their own purposes, the combined compilation of SNA and SEEA accounts provides several advantages. Physical asset accounts according to the SEEA asset boundary provide a foundation for the valuation of natural resources in the SNA. As the SEEA applies a broader asset boundary than the SNA, it therefore encompasses the required physical information for national accounts compilation. Moreover, SEEA accounts can also be used to improve the quality of the national accounts, as they satisfy the principle of material balancing (matter cannot be lost). For example, physical energy flow accounts (PEFA) describe the supply and use of energy products by economic activities and may provide an important data source for estimating intermediate consumption of energy products when multiplied with suitable prices.
47. It is important to note that the UN Statistical Commission endorsed updating the SEEA CF in its 55th session in 2024. The process is expected to conclude in 2028. Alignment with the 2025 SNA is one of the revision issues, however the revised SEEA CF may deviate in some aspects from the 2025 SNA as it is developed to address different needs.
2.3.2. Measurement boundaries
48. In the 2025 SNA (§11.178) natural capital is understood as the aggregation of natural resources and ecosystem assets (see Figure 2-2). The 2025 SNA defines7 natural resources as follows:
Natural resources are assets that naturally occur, such as land, mineral and energy resources, water resources, and animal, tree, crop and plant resources, that have an economic value and over which ownership may be enforced and transferred. Environmental assets over which ownership rights have not, or cannot, be enforced, such as high seas beyond national jurisdiction and most parts of the atmosphere, are excluded. A significant part of natural resources is non-produced, although biological resources are frequently the result of human involvement, and have thus come into existence as outputs from production processes. (2025 SNA, §11.11)8
Source: 2025 SNA Figure 35.1
49. As ecosystem assets are outside of the SNA asset boundary, only natural resources are included in the asset classification and integrated framework of national accounts. However, ecosystem extent and condition and the flow of ecosystem services may be relevant insofar they yield monetary benefits within the scope of value measured by the SNA. The 2025 SNA explains this as follows:
Ecosystem assets are contiguous spaces of a specific ecosystem type characterised by a distinct set of biotic and abiotic components and their interactions. Ecosystem assets are not explicitly recognised as economic assets in the integrated framework of national accounts. However, part of the value of some ecosystem assets will be implicitly included in the value of some natural resources, particularly agricultural land and forest land, since the economic value of the provisioning services and other ecosystem services supplied by these ecosystem assets will also be reflected in the values of the natural resources. The recording of data about ecosystem assets and the services they apply is at the heart of SEEA Ecosystem Accounting. (2025 SNA, 11.180)
While the SNA recognizes the benefits provided by ecosystems in some cases (e.g. provisioning services), the 2025 SNA does not explicitly record the value of ecosystem services which are understood as contributions to benefits and are considered to lie outside the SNA production boundary.
50. The SEEA CF does not define natural capital. It prefers the term environmental assets defined as “the naturally occurring living and non-living components of the Earth, together constituting the biophysical environment, which may provide benefits to humanity” (United Nations et al., 2014, p. 13[5]). The main reason why SEEA prefers environmental assets appears to be that the notion of asset in SEEA is first and foremost a physical concept, while capital has clear connotations of economic value.
51. The SEEA CF has a broader asset boundary in biophysical terms than the SNA, as environmental assets without current economic value or economic owner are also in scope. The SNA and SEEA CF however have the same asset boundary in monetary terms. For example, in case of oil and gas resources, both the SNA and SEEA asset boundary in monetary terms is restricted to resources with economic value over which ownership rights are exercised, i.e. to commercially viable resources, however the SEEA physical asset account will cover a wider set including potentially commercial or non-commercial resources. On the other hand, the 2025 SNA asset boundary for natural resources includes also assets not currently included as natural resources in the SEEA CF such as radio spectra and renewable energy assets (to the extent they are not reflected in the value of land (see also 2025 SNA, §13.19)).
52. The SEEA Ecosystem Accounting (United Nations et al., 2024[7]) and SEEA CF have the same (biophysical) asset boundary, but a different classification of the assets that make-up the environment:
Within this broader asset boundary, the focus of accounting in the SEEA Central Framework is on the individual resources that make up the environment, such as minerals, timber, water, land and soil. This focus comprises those types of individual resources used in economic activity. The focus of accounting for environmental assets in the SEEA EA is on ecosystems and, in many senses, how individual components function together. (UN et al. 2024, A1.13)
For instance, if we take a forest, the SEEA CF would describe this in terms of multiple assets: land (understood narrowly as the asset that provides space), soil resources, timber resources, and possibly also water resources and biological resources (e.g. wild animals). The SEEA EA, however, would describe the same forest as an integrated asset (a forest ecosystem) that generates a range of ecosystems services: provisioning services (in the form of timber), regulating services (such as carbon sequestration or retention; water purification and air filtration) and cultural services (using the forest for leisure).
53. When it comes to monetary valuation, the SEEA CF applies the same valuation principles as the SNA. The SEEA CF and 2025 SNA have the same production boundary. By contrast, the SEEA EA extends the SNA production boundary with the recognition of ecosystem services as outputs generated by ecosystem assets, although the valuation chapters in this manual were not approved as a statistical standard and remain experimental. As a result, the monetary value of ecosystem assets could be larger than the value of the individual assets measured by the SEEA CF or the 2025 SNA. The value of the forest will be larger than the value of the individual assets such as timber resources (and land) as it will also include the value of non-marketed regulating and cultural ecosystem services which are outside the SNA production boundary.
54. Another important difference between the SEEA CF and the 2025 SNA is that they have a different definition of natural resources. The SEEA CF stipulates that “Natural resources include all natural biological resources (including timber and aquatic resources), mineral and energy resources, soil resources and water resources.” (United Nations et al., 2014, p. 190[5]) Natural resources therefore exclude land and cultivated biological resources, although these assets are considered as environmental assets, whereas the 2025 SNA includes both produced (cultivated) and non-produced assets in natural resources. The SEEA EA (Table 11-2) contains a proposal for an extended balance sheet which integrates both the SEEA EA, SEEA CF and SNA perspectives, where it is apparent that some 2025 SNA defined natural resources (e.g. forest land) would be encompassed in ecosystem assets (e.g. terrestrial ecosystems).
55. The current situation where the SEEA CF and 2025 SNA have different definitions and classifications of natural resources is not ideal, which is why the treatment of land is placed on the post-2025 SNA research agenda. The issue of alignment between the SEEA and SNA asset classifications is also included as part of the SEEA CF update.
2.3.3. Physical and monetary estimates
56. The SEEA consist of accounts in physical units (such as physical flow accounts, and physical asset accounts); accounts in monetary units; and also hybrid accounts (accounts that combine physical and monetary information). For the physical accounts, a range of units is used including tons, joule, litres, km2 etc. depending on the specific resource. On the other hand, the 2025 SNA consists of monetary values only. In most cases, the estimation of monetary asset values for natural resource and the cost of depletion requires SEEA-style physical asset accounts with information about stocks and changes in stocks during the accounting period. This physical information is typically a subset of the physical accounts of the SEEA, due to the broader asset boundary in physical terms of the SEEA and can be sourced from the SEEA accounts if countries already compile them. In case countries do not yet compile SEEA asset accounts, this guide recommends joint implementation to benefit from synergies. The integration of SEEA-style physical accounts into national accounting practices not only supports accurate valuation but enhances consistency and cross-sectoral usage of the data. This is discussed further for mineral and energy resources in Chapter 4 and for biological resources in Chapter 5.
57. In this section, we first outline the recommendations for the update of the 2008 SNA as endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission in 2024 (ISWGNA, 2023[8]) with some modifications as described in ISWGNA (2024[9]). Next, we explain the rationale for the key recommendations that are the starting point for this compilation guide.
2.4.1. Recommendations regarding natural resources
58. The recommendations for the update of the 2008 SNA were grouped together into eight categories (represented by letters in ISWGNA (2023[8]), further detailed with numbers). Here we list all relevant recommendations pertaining to natural resources by copy pasting the final text from Annex 4 of the 2025 SNA ([10]), and adding supplemental reference to the relevant Guidance Notes9 in parenthesis for ease of reference:
C. Generic issues
1. Giving more prominence to net measures (CM.4)
Reference: chapter 1, §1.39 to 1.40; chapter 21, §21.104 to 21.107.
Net income measures have been given more emphasis in the 2025 SNA. In this respect, the volume change of net domestic product (NDP) has been identified as the conceptually preferred measure of economic growth, not replacing but to be used alongside the volume change of gross domestic product (GDP). In the 2025 SNA, NDP is defined as GDP less depreciation and depletion of natural resources (in the 2025 SNA the term “depreciation” has replaced the term “consumption of fixed capital” used in the 2008 SNA).
2. Valuation principles and methodologies (AI.1)
Reference: chapter 4, §4.132 to 4.134, §4.155, and Annex; chapter 28, section G; chapter 30, section F; chapter 34, section D3; chapter 35, section D.
The principles and methodologies for valuing transactions and stocks/positions will not be changed in the 2025 SNA. However, more explicit guidance regarding the following issues will be added:
a. Using the preferred term “exchange values”, defined as “the values at which goods, services, labour or assets are in fact exchanged (between two independent parties) or else could be exchanged for cash”, as the main principle for valuing transactions. The concept of “exchange values” and “exchange price” have been more clearly distinguished from the valuation methods to approximate this concept, by referring to observed exchange prices/market prices as the preferable method for valuing transactions;
b. Using the notion of (the present value of future) capital services as the current operational value for valuing non-financial assets. This can be approximated by using the perpetual inventory method (PIM) for most fixed assets and the present value of future resource rents for non-produced natural resources. In particular, there are more detailed recommendations for valuing mineral and energy resources.
c. Only using observed market prices to arrive at market-equivalent prices, if the appropriate market conditions are met. The latter concerns issues related to the maturity of the markets and/or related to the point that the market is not distorted by, for example, government interventions. It is not related to the structure of the market (competitive, monopolistic, oligopolistic, monopsonistic or other types of markets).
E. Further specifications of the scope of transactions, including the production boundary
5. Household production of electricity and heat
Reference: chapter 7, §7.154 to 7.155.
The 2025 SNA provides guidance on the recording of production, by households, of electricity through the use of solar panels and wind power plants and the production of heat through geothermal heat or heat pumps is to be treated as own-account production of goods. Household production of electricity can be used directly by the producing household for own final consumption, can be sold to the local grid, or a mix of the two (with complicated price structures involved). Household production of heat through geothermal heat or heat pumps is normally used for own final consumption. The production of electricity and heat by households for own final consumption is also considered to be part of the production boundary applied in the integrated framework of national accounts.
8. Delineation and recording of rent
Reference: chapter 8, §8.164 and §8.174; chapter 22, §22.29.
In the 2025 SNA, the definition of rent has been broadened, from being restricted in the 2008 SNA to natural resources deemed to have an infinite life, to all payments/receipts related to the use of non-produced non-financial assets (regardless of their life span). This also includes payments related to obtaining observable phenomena collected from users of, for example, social media or the internet more generally. Observable phenomena are facts or situations whose characteristics and attributes may be recorded. As such, they are often the objective of collecting data.
F. Extensions and further specifications of the concepts of non-financial assets, capital formation and consumption of fixed capital/depletion, including changes related to other transactions in goods and services
4. Depletion of non-produced natural resources (WS.6, WS.10)
Reference: chapter 7, §7.7 to 7.9 and section I; chapter 11, §11.236 to 11.238.
Depletion of non-produced natural resources is recorded as a cost of production in the 2025 SNA, instead of the 2008 SNA treatment as other changes in the volume of assets. Consequently, net domestic product is not only affected by depreciation (known as “consumption of fixed capital” in the 2008 SNA) .. , but also by the amount of depletion.
5. Accounting for mineral and energy resources (WS.6, WS.10 and WS.11)
Reference: chapter 4, §4A.32 to 4A.35; chapter 11, §11.186, 11.191, 11.200 and 11.201; chapter 14, §14.57 and 14.158; chapter 27, §27.29 to 27.32 and §27.59 to 27.62
In the 2025 SNA, the asset boundary for mineral and energy resources explicitly includes renewable energy resources (i.e., the exclusive use of solar, wind, etc., for the production of energy). If not already reflected in the value of land, these resources are explicitly accounted for, if they are viable in economic production under prevailing technological and economic conditions, to be valued using the present value of future resource rents (applying the residual value method). These renewable resources were not explicitly considered as assets in the 2008 SNA.
To facilitate the delineation and international comparability of non-renewable mineral and energy resources, the 2025 SNA uses the same three resource classes as in the SEEA Central Framework (i.e. “commercially recoverable resources”, “potentially commercially recoverable resources”, and “noncommercial and other known deposits”). However, the measurement of monetary estimates is restricted to the first class, which in practice could be approximated by those resources for which permissions to exploit have been granted, and/or those for which the existence is explicitly recognised by (past) monetary transactions.
The 2025 SNA clarifies the calculation of present values of future resource rents for mineral and energy resources, which had been introduced in the 2008 SNA.
In allocating the value of mineral and energy resources, the split-asset approach is adopted in the 2025 SNA, in line with the appropriation of resource rents by both the legal owner (reflected as receipt of rents) and the extractor (reflecting the residual value of the resource rent). (In the 2008 SNA, the full value of the asset was allocated to the legal owner.) In relevant cases, transfers of parts of the resources by the legal owner to the extractor are recorded as other changes in the volume of assets and liabilities, and not as capital transfers. In the case of transferable rights to exploit the resources, double-counting should be avoided by not allocating both the value of the rights and the value according to the split-asset approach to the balance sheet of the extractor. The attribution of depletion costs to the legal owner and the extractor is recorded in line with chapter 5 of the SEEA central framework.
6 Accounting for biological resources yielding once-only products (WS8)
Reference: chapter 7, 7.268 and 7.288 to 7.291; chapter 11, section 2 Biological resources; chapter 27, section 4 Fish.
Although the asset boundary for biological resources has not changed, the 2025 SNA changes the distinction between cultivated (produced) and non-cultivated (non-produced) resources yielding once only products. It is recommended to distinguish between resources where the control, responsibility and management does not go beyond the establishment of quota regimes (e.g. migrating wild animals and fish) versus resources where one can observe a continuum from intensive to extensive forms of control, responsibility and management (e.g. the growth of trees for timber production). In respect of the latter, all growth of the relevant resources that in the future is intended to be used for the purpose of producing goods is considered as being under some form of management and control by economic agents, instead of applying a discretionary choice between either managed and controlled or not managed and controlled by economic agents. This only leads to a shift in the classification of assets, with no impact on the asset boundary.
The degradation of biological resources yielding once-only products, here to be understood as the income generating potential of the underlying asset (e.g. forest land), is recorded as depletion, with any regeneration recorded as negative depletion. Further clarification is also introduced regarding the compilation of work-in-progress for biological resources yielding once-only products, in particular the need to eliminate the possible inclusion of resource rents linked to the underlying asset. In this respect, it should be noted that forest land (i.e., the underlying asset for timber production) is treated as a non-produced non-financial asset, similar to agricultural land.
10. Revised classifications and definitions of assets (DZ.7, WS.11 and WS.12)
Reference: chapter 11, §11.11, 11.28, 11.97, 11.112 and 11.205; chapter 14, §14.61; chapter 22, §22.36; chapter 35, §35.12, 35.21; Annex 2 $A2.36 to A2.38
In the 2025 SNA, natural resources are treated as a separate asset class, next to produced non-financial assets (excluding produced natural resources), non-produced non-financial assets (excluding non-produced natural resources), and financial assets (and liabilities). Ecosystem assets, human capital and social capital are recognised as separate asset classes, albeit outside the asset boundary of the integrated framework of national accounts. For certain asset categories, “of which” items are included, as supplementary information, to separately identify certain investments that are considered highly relevant for the transition of the economy to cope with climate change.
H. Further specifications of the scope of transactions concerning government and the public sector
1. Emission permits (WS.7)
Reference: chapter 8, §8.102; chapter 12, §12.146; chapter 27, §27.77 to 27.85
It will be recommended to record emission permits as financial assets (other accounts receivable/payable), with taxes on production recorded at surrender, valued at issuance prices.
3. Distinction between taxes and services more generally (WS.14, AI.2)
Reference: chapter 8, §8.82 to 8.83 and §8.173; chapter 30, §30.87 to 30.91
The 2025 SNA provides clarification on the treatment of payments related to the use or extraction of natural resources. In particular, it is specified that rents received by the legal owner of a natural resource should include any payments from a user/extractor of that resource that are linked to the use/extraction or to the quantity and/or value of that resource (including royalties, surtaxes and permits).
2.4.2. Rationale for the main changes to 2008 SNA
Depletion as cost of production
59. The 2008 SNA included the recording of depletion of natural resources as an element in the other changes in volume of assets and liabilities account. The 2025 SNA recommends including depletion as a cost of production in the current accounts, thereby impacting net measures such as NDP, NNI and net saving.10 The 2025 SNA recommends recording depletion for non-produced natural resources.
60. The 2025 SNA essentially follows the SEEA CF (United Nations et al., 2014[5]), which has standardised the definition and recording of depletion. Before the publication of the SEEA CF, the treatment of depletion as a cost of production had been extensively debated over many years, with several different approaches being put forward.11 In the SEEA CF, it was agreed to treat depletion of natural resources like depreciation of fixed assets, as both types of assets are used up in the production process.12 The inclusion of depletion in NDP ensures consistency and symmetry of treatment between produced capital and relevant natural resources.
61. For non-cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products (e.g. fish stocks) and forest land, whether or not depletion occurs depends on how they are managed. When they are managed in a fully sustainable manner, there is no depletion. It is possible that the opposite of depletion occurs, namely that the resource is allowed to regenerate. For instance, after a situation of overfishing, fishing quota may be reduced or the fishing ground closed, until the stock is sufficiently recovered.
62. When the 2025 SNA changes relating to natural resources are implemented in countries’ accounts, policy makers should be able to compare, for example, the impact on net measures of production and income of using non-renewable versus renewable energy or of non-sustainable versus sustainably managed fishing. The inclusion of depletion as a cost of production provides clear signals to policy makers where the depletion of non-produced natural resources may jeopardise future economic growth.
Renewable energy resources as a new asset category
63. Guidance Note WS.11 (SNA Update, 2023[11]) assesses the current treatment of renewable energy in the 2008 SNA and the SEEA CF. It notes that the 2008 SNA does not have much to say about this issue. The SEEA CF assumes that renewable energy asset values are captured in associated land values but does not address the valuation of renewable energy resources when this is not associated with land (e.g. offshore wind); or exists under ownership rights separated from land (e.g. hydro and most geothermal); or is associated with land that has no economic value (e.g. remote desert). The explicit recognition of renewable energy as part of economic assets is therefore a change to the SNA and – if it is agreed as part of the update of that framework which started in 2024 – of the SEEA CF.
64. According to Guidance Note WS.11, there are several reasons why renewable energy resources should be explicitly recognised as assets as long as they satisfy the criteria of assets in terms of ownership and derivation of benefits.13 First, as fossil fuel resources are already included in the SNA, not including renewable energy resources would lead to an imbalance, with the risk of sending distorted signals to decision-makers. Secondly, governments (for example in the United Kingdom) are already beginning to capture rents associated with renewable resources such as wind.
65. It should be emphasised that the asset we are trying to value in the national accounts is the renewable resource itself, not the value of the equipment used in capturing the renewable resource. For instance, in case of solar panels, we need to distinguish between the value of the solar panel (a fixed asset) and the value of the renewable energy asset (a non-produced asset).
66. Some accountants have struggled to see how energy resources such as wind or hydro can be considered as stocks, as they seem to be flows. Here, it is important to realise that for subsoil assets, reserves are also based not only on geological considerations (“how much is available?”) but also on technical (“can we extract it?”), legal (“do we have permission to extract?”) and economic considerations (“is it profitable to extract?”). Likewise, in the case of renewable resources, we can conceive of stocks in physical units as the total amount that can be extracted over time given existing technology and price or cost levels; stocks in monetary units consist of aggregated (discounted) flows of future flows of benefits. This similarity is why the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources applies to both non-renewable and renewable mineral and energy resources (see Section 4.2.1).
67. A second objection to treatment of renewable energy resources as assets is that they cannot be seen as scarce. Here it should be clarified, as mentioned in 2025 SNA (A4.60), that in the national accounts only “the exclusive use of solar, wind, etc. for the production of energy” gives rise to recording of assets. First of all, renewable resources that are not used (e.g. a river without hydropower installation, or solar radiation not captured by solar panels) do not constitute assets. Secondly, the installation of equipment such as wind turbines, hydropower dams, or solar installation almost always requires permits, and is not allowed everywhere.14 The situation with solar panels installed by households is more nuanced; for instance, balcony panels (i.e. smaller panels detached from the grid) are not considered to give rise to renewable energy assets, but panels fixed to the roof do.15
68. All things considered, the inclusion of renewable energy assets should enable the 2025 SNA to remain a policy-relevant measurement framework for economies facing climate change. In addition to showing the impact of different types of energy use on net measures of production and income (with implications for future economic growth, as discussed above), the national accounts will also be able to provide estimates of stocks of renewable energy, allowing for comparisons of renewable energy assets and non-renewable energy assets.
Clarifications to biological resources
69. The 2025 SNA contains several changes regarding the conceptualisation, measurement and recording of biological resources. More specifically, as neither biological resources yielding repeat products nor biological resources yielding once-only products in agriculture are considered problematic in terms of measurement as they are typically cultivated and market prices are often available,16 the scope of the recommendations is restricted to the treatment of (work-in-progress on) biological resources yielding once-only products (other than agriculture) such as timber and fish resources.
70. The 2008 SNA made a distinction between cultivated and non-cultivated biological resources depending on whether “the growth process is directly controlled by, managed by and under the responsibility of an economic agent” (United Nations et al., 2009, p. 111[12]; p. 205[12]). In practice it is often difficult to make this distinction, and there was a risk that countries draw the line differently, thus leading to a potential lack of international comparability.
71. There is no change for biological resources yielding repeat products, which are always cultivated. The 2025 SNA maintains the distinction between cultivated and non-cultivated biological resources yielding once only products but draws the line slightly differently. The distinction is between “resources regarding which the human involvement is very limited, such as the establishment of quota regimes [non-cultivated], and resources where one can observe a continuum from intensive to extensive forms of control, responsibility and management [cultivated].” (2025 SNA, §11.207).
72. The asset boundary for biological resources of the 2008 SNA is not changed: for instance, timber resources in remote or non-logged areas of the Amazon will continue to be outside the asset boundary. The overarching criteria remains whether the biological resources fulfil the definition of economic assets (2025 SNA, §11.10) and hence included within the SNA asset boundary.
73. Finally, the 2025 SNA sets out to clarify various treatments of biological resources in the 2008 SNA by distinguishing between work-in-progress of cultivated biological resources (e.g. standing timber) and what it describes as the underlying asset (e.g. forest land). The underlying asset captures the capacity of assets to yield also future benefits. It is therefore the underlying asset that can be subject to depletion or regeneration, not the work-in-progress. This is explored further in Chapter 5.
Economic ownership employing the split-asset approach
74. The 2008 SNA specified that asset recording in the balance sheet is in principle determined based on economic ownership. But “when a natural resource is the subject of a resource lease, the asset continues to appear in the balance sheet of the lessor [e.g. a government] even though most of the economic risks and rewards of using the asset in production are assumed by the lessee [e.g. a resource company]” (European Commission et al., 2009, p. 315 (§13.3)[13]). Therefore, in some cases there was an inconsistency in the SNA’s approach to asset ownership, which created an imbalance between value recognised in the balance sheet and the income measured in the current accounts of the legal owner and extractor (producer).
75. A common thread underpinning several of the natural resource recommendations is the general idea that using a natural resource in production always gives rise to a “resource rent” (as will be explained in Chapter 3), and that this resource rent is generally not fully captured in the rent paid to the legal owner of the resource (usually the government).17
76. The SEEA CF (United Nations et al., 2014[5]) specifies that “economic value of mineral and energy resources should be allocated between the extractor and the legal owner” (§33) and that “the allocation of assets and the resulting estimates of institutional sector net worth should reflect the expected future income streams for each unit from the extraction of the resources” (5.223). The 2025 SNA follows the SEEA CF treatment (in relevant cases, see Section 3.6) applying it generally to natural resources (2025 SNA, §27.19). The upshot is that depletion is also shared based on economic ownership (2025 SNA, §27.60-27.62).
77. In general, the split asset approach is not only relevant for the government sector (S13) and extractor i.e. non-financial corporations (S11), but also financial corporations (S12), households (S14) or non-profit institutions serving households (S15) may be the legal owner of natural resources.
78. Aside from the key accounting reason to restore consistency between income (and depletion) streams with the underlying assets giving rise to the flows, splitting assets provides highly policy-relevant information. First, it provides an indicator of how much natural resource wealth is given away by government to the private sector, which is especially relevant in resource rich countries.18 Second, the allocation of the assets to legal owner and extractor within the national accounts is consistent with the aspiration of the 2025 SNA to assess distributions of income and wealth across groups of economic units (2025 SNA, §1.10).
79. In the 2025 SNA, natural resources are split into five classes: land; mineral and energy resources, biological resources, water resources; and other natural resources. We will discuss each of these in greater detail, including the classes not covered in the remainder of this compilation guide: land, water resources and other natural resources. Table 2‑1 also indicates for each of the natural resource classes whether they consist of produced or non-produced assets. This is important as this will determine their treatment in the integrated framework of national accounts, which is indicated in the additional columns on the recording of their generation (e.g. due to an increase in regenerative potential or discoveries) and rundown (e.g. as a result of using up of the resource in production). For example, biological resources yielding repeat products such as orchards are fixed assets (produced natural resources) and are subject to depreciation and gross fixed capital formation.
Note: Cells in orange are supplementary items (also indicated with S). * Land improvement is classified separately as fixed assets (AN1123). Costs of ownership transfer on non-produced natural resources (AN35) are not shown separately. As a general rule, permits are incorporated in the related natural resource, except for radio spectra, so de facto the category AN392 only includes permits to use radio spectra. OCV: other change in volume. GFCF: gross fixed capital formation.19
Source: Author.
2.5.1. Land
80. The 2025 SNA defines Land (AN31) as follows:20
Land consists of the ground, including the soil covering and any associated surface waters, over which ownership rights are enforced and from which economic benefits can be derived by their owners by holding or using them. The value of land excludes any buildings or other structures situated on it or running through it; cultivated crops, trees and animals; mineral and energy resources; non-cultivated biological resources and water resources below the ground. The associated surface water includes any inland waters (reservoirs, lakes, rivers, etc.) over which ownership rights can be exercised and that can, therefore, be the subject of transactions between institutional units. However, water bodies from which water is regularly extracted, against payment, for use in production (including for irrigation) are included not in water associated with land but in water resources. (2025 SNA, §11.194)
Land is a non-produced asset. According to the 2025 SNA (§11.238) “Bare land [...] [is] not subject to depletion. However, in the case the value of land is combined with another asset, the combined asset may be subject to depreciation or depletion.” Although the 2025 SNA does not define bare land specifically, it is to be understood as land per se, without any additional elements which may relate to buildings or land improvements (see §8.170 of the 2025 SNA), biological resources related to provisioning services, or natural resources situated under the land.
81. The SNA definition of land differs from the SEEA CF, which defines land as “a unique environmental asset that delineates the space in which economic activities and environmental processes take place and within which environmental assets and economic assets are located” (United Nations et al., 2014, p. 174[5]). According to the SEEA CF, land should be understood as the mere provision of space and is different from natural resources. Another difference is that according to the SEEA CF, soil should be considered as a separate asset, whereas soil is part of the value of land in the SNA.
82. Reference is made here to the Eurostat-OECD compilation guide on land estimation (Eurostat and OECD, 2015[14]). The compilation guide contains a classification of land (Table 2‑2) that goes beyond the detail provided in the SNA. Eurostat and OECD (2015[14]) also describe a range of valuation methods for land consisting of direct methods (such as transactions in land) and indirect methods (such as the residual value method; land to structure ratio; and hedonic pricing).
83. This guide will not discuss the measurement and valuation of land in detail, apart from the valuation of forest land21 which will be discussed in relation to the valuation of timber resources (Chapter 5). This guide is, however, consistent with the Eurostat and OECD (2015[14]) compilation guide.
84. The 2025 SNA defines land improvements as
Major improvements in the quantity, quality or productivity of land, or prevent its deterioration. Such improvements are recorded as capital formation and the additional value is shown as a separate asset within produced non-financial assets (excluding natural resources). Activities such as land clearance, land contouring, creation of wells and watering holes that are integral to the land in question are to be treated as resulting in land improvements. Activities such as the creation of seawalls, dykes, dams and major irrigation systems which are in the vicinity of the land but not integral to it, which often affect land belonging to several owners and which are often carried out by government, result in assets that are to be classified as structures. (2025 SNA, §11.88)
Land improvements continue to be recorded as AN11 fixed assets (2025 SNA, §11.89) separate from land (which is a non-produced asset). It has been mentioned by some that “land improvement” is a misleading term as some of these activities may have detrimental environmental outcomes. This issue has been included in the post 2025 SNA/BPM research agenda.
2.5.2. Mineral and energy resources
85. Mineral and energy resources (AN32) are split between non-renewable (AN321) and renewable resources (AN322). All minerals are considered non-renewable, so they are included in the first category (AN321) while energy resources may be renewable or non-renewable. Mineral and energy resources are considered non-produced assets. Their appearance/generation is recorded as other changes in volume (2025 SNA, §13.18-13.19). The run-down of non-renewable resources is recorded as depletion. Since renewable resources are not depletable (2025 SNA, §11.201, 11.238), their disappearance is treated as other changes in volume.
86. Non-renewable mineral and energy resources (AN321) are disaggregated into coal and lignite, oil and natural gas (which itself is further broken down between oil and natural gas), minerals, and other. These classes are all labelled as supplementary in the 2025 SNA, which means that it is up to countries and international organisations to decide what they consider relevant for inclusion in national publications and international questionnaires. Their scope and treatment are further discussed in Section 4.2.
87. Renewable energy resources (AN322) are disaggregated into wind energy resources; solar energy resources; water energy resources; geothermal energy resources; and other renewable energy resources (2025 SNA, §11.202). These classes are also labelled as supplementary in the 2025 SNA, which means that it is up to countries and international organisations to decide what they consider relevant for inclusion in national publications and international questionnaires. Their scope and treatment are further discussed in Section 4.3.
2.5.3. Biological resources
88. Biological resources (AN33) are disaggregated into AN331 biological resources yielding repeat products, AN332 biological resources yielding once-only products and AN333 work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources.
AN331 Biological resources yielding repeat products
89. AN331 are considered fixed assets and further divided into AN3311 animal resources yielding repeat products and AN3312 tree, crop and plant resources yielding repeat products. According to the 2025 SNA (§11.214) “animal resources yielding repeat products cover animals whose natural growth and regeneration are under the direct control, responsibility and management of institutional units.” They are therefore considered as cultivated (= produced) assets. Their generation is recorded as gross fixed capital formation measured by the value of acquisitions less disposals, with depreciation measured as the decline in value due to aging of animals (for more details see §11.216). AN3311 is a broad category that consists of various groups of animals which can be illustrated based on the functions they fulfil in production (based on §11.214 with examples added):
Breeding stocks i.e. animals kept for controlled reproduction, including aquatic resources.22
Dairy cattle, sheep or other animals used for production of wool or milk. Cattle raised for slaughter is excluded here as this is included under AN3332 work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources yielding-once only products.
Draught animals i.e. animals such as oxen, or bulls that are used to do work such as ploughing fields.
Animals used for transportation such as horses or guide dogs.
Animals used for racing such as horses or dogs.
Animals used for entertainment such as circus animals.
90. AN3312 are also considered fixed assets defined according the 2025 SNA (§11.217) as “tree, crop and plant resources yielding repeat products cover plants whose natural growth and regeneration are under the direct control, responsibility and management of institutional units.” They are therefore considered as cultivated assets. Their generation is recorded as gross fixed capital formation measured by the value of acquisitions less disposals, with depreciation measured as the decline in value due to aging of these assets. The class consists of “trees (including vines and shrubs) cultivated for fruits and nuts, for sap and resin and for bark and leaf products.” (§11.217) The class excludes “trees grown for timber that yield a finished product once only, just as cereals or vegetables that produce only a single crop.” (§11.217), which are recorded under AN3332 work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources yielding-once only products. Immature resources yielding repeat products should be classified as work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources AN3331.
AN332 Biological resources yielding once-only products
91. AN332 biological resources yielding once-only products consist of AN3321 cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products and AN3322 non-cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products. AN3321 cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products is in principle an empty category which is only included for completeness of the classification structure. The class is empty because timber resources are always recorded as AN333 work-in-progress, while forest land is always recorded under AN31 land.
92. For AN3322 non-cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products, generation is recorded as negative depletion while their run-down is recorded as depletion. The main example of non-cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products consist of fish resources in open seas (see Section 5.2 for a detailed discussion of definition and scope). Other examples are wild animals (e.g. game) that are hunted for commercial purposes (i.e. not for own final consumption). Non-cultivated biological resources qualify as assets if ownership and benefits are established by a quota regime.
AN333 Work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources
93. According to the 2025 SNA (§11.223) Work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources covers both work-in-progress on biological resources yielding repeat products and once-only products. Specifically, 2025 SNA (§11.224) defines AN3331 as “work-in-progress on cultivated biological resources yielding repeat products consists of output that is not yet sufficiently mature to be in a state in which it is normally supplied to other institutional units, or to be used in production.” Furthermore, 2025 SNA (§11.225) defines AN3332 as “work-in-progress related to cultivated biological resources yielding once-only products represents the accrual accounting of the growth of single-use animals, crops and plants as well as trees intended for the future production of timber.” Aquaculture resources would be recorded in this asset class as well. It is recommended for both practical and conceptual23 reasons to continue recording cultivated biological resources after they have matured in AN333.24
94. For both asset classes, generation and run-down is recorded as additions and withdrawals from inventories.
2.5.4. Water resources
95. The measurement and valuation of Water resources (AN34) as assets is a complex area that sits at the intersection of SNA, SEEA CF and SEEA EA. The 2025 SNA defines water resources as follows:25
Water resources consist of surface and groundwater resources used for extraction to the extent that their scarcity leads to the enforcement of ownership or use rights, market valuation and some measure of economic control. If it is not possible to separate the value of surface water from the associated land, the whole should be allocated to the category representing the greater part of the total value. (2025 SNA, §11.203)
96. The SEEA Water (United Nations, 2012[15]) contains detailed guidelines for the measurement of water resources, covering a range of water accounts, with Chapter VIII discussing the valuation of water resources. The SEEA EA distinguishes between freshwater ecosystems (such as rivers or lakes) and the provisioning of water (water supply):
The value of water supply is treated as an abiotic flow and hence is recorded as part of other environmental assets – as water resources - rather than associated with the terrestrial or freshwater ecosystem asset to which they are most directly connected (e.g., based on the location of a bore or well). In this context, the value of water resources is limited to its use as input to economic activity and human consumption. (United Nations et al., 2024, p. 245 (§11.41)[7])
97. Aquifers require specific attention, in some cases they are confined and in others unconfined;26 when confined they are treated as distinct ecosystems (United Nations et al., 2024, p. 48 (§3.17)[7]).
Some water resources can be understood as non-renewable:
Depending on the recharge rate of the aquifer, groundwater can be fossil (or non-renewable) in the sense that water is not replenished by nature during the human lifespan. It should be noted that the concerns about non-renewable water apply not only to groundwater, but also to other bodies of water: for example, lakes may be considered non-renewable when their replenishment rate is very slow compared with their total volume of water. (SEEA Water, §6.16).
For non-renewable water resources, it would seem logical to measure the cost of depletion.27 This issue has not been discussed in the context of the SNA (or the SEEA) and therefore the valuation of depletion of water resources is currently not recommended by 2025 SNA, and any value changes are to be recorded as other changes in volume.
98. Water resources can be used in economic activity in different ways: they can be used directly (for instance water abstraction for use as drinking water), indirectly (to absorb heat when used for cooling water or to dilute pollutants), in situ (used for transportation or recreation) or for their kinetic energy (hydropower). Importantly, the SNA restricts the scope of valuation as asset to the first category: use for extraction (hydropower is discussed under renewable energy). This restricted focus is consistent with the SEEA EA, which considers water resources as distinct assets from ecosystem assets.
99. Even with such a limited focus, the valuation of water resources can be challenging. The SEEA Water mentions several unique characteristics of water including that “water is a heavily regulated commodity for which the price charged (if any) often bears little relation to its economic value or even to its cost of supply.” (United Nations, 2012, p. 133 (§8.1)[15]) Valuation of water resources could be undertaken based on the resource rent of the water supply sector. However, as the provisioning of water is often not for profit, the resulting rents may be low or even negative.
100. In light of the definitions of land and water resources in the SNA, in practice valuation of the water resource only occurs in the SNA when payment is taking place for the rights to extract the resource. There are actually few countries that value water resources as asset in the national accounts. According to the 2025 SNA, the asset value should be recorded under water resources, not under contracts, leases and licenses (2025 SNA, §27.20).
101. In light of these complexities and challenges, the valuation of water is included in the list of issues for the SEEA CF revision that started in 2024 and is not further discussed in this compilation guide.28 Water resources are in general considered non-produced, but whether water behind dams is to be considered a produced asset has been debated in the SEEA community and is also included as an issue for the revision of the SEEA CF.
2.5.5. Other natural resources
102. The 2025 SNA (§11.204) specifies that “the category other natural resources currently includes radio spectra and permits to use natural resources. Given the increasing move to carry out environmental policy by means of market instruments, it may be that other natural resources will come to be recognised as economic assets. If so, this is the category to which they should be allocated.” Other natural resources AN39 consist of radio spectra AN391, permits to use natural resource AN392 and other AN393. To remain consistent with the 2008 SNA treatment of radio spectra, a class permits to use natural resources (AN392) has been created which is solely to be used for recording the value of permits related to radio spectra.29
103. The radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum which is used for communication. There are important differences in treatment between SNA and SEEA. The 2025 SNA (§35.35) says: “the radio spectrum is not considered part of the biophysical environment [in the SEEA CF] and hence is not included as part of natural resources but, in the integrated framework of the SNA, it is included as part of natural resources.”
104. The radio spectrum cannot be subject to depletion or degradation. Its treatment is discussed in Chapter 27 of the 2025 SNA and will not be further discussed in this compilation guide. There are many outstanding issues in the treatment of radio spectra, thus it is included as an issue on the post 2025 SNA/BPM research agenda.
References
[2] Dasgupta, P. (2021), The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, London: HM Treasury.
[19] Edens, B. (2013), “Reconciling theory and practice in environmental accounting”, Ph/D. thesis, Statistics Netherlands.
[10] European Commission et al. (2025), “System of National Accounts 2025”, white cover version, New York, United States, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/docs/2025_SNA_Pre-edit.pdf.
[13] European Commission et al. (2009), System of National Accounts 2008, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/docs/sna2008.pdf.
[20] Eurostat (2024), Methodological Note - Recording the Production of Electricity by Households in National Accounts.
[14] Eurostat and OECD (2015), Eurostat-OECD compilation guide on land estimation, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3859598/6893405/KS-GQ-14-012-EN-N.pdf.
[18] FAO and UN (2020), System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (SEEA AFF), FAO and United Nations Statistical Division, https://doi.org/10.4060/ca7735en.
[4] Fenichel, E., C. Obst and S. Wentland (2024), https://seea.un.org/sites/seea.un.org/files/session_11_eli_fenichel.pdf, Elsevier BV.
[9] ISWGNA (2024), Report of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts, https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_56/documents/2025-2-NationalAccounts-E.pdf.
[8] ISWGNA (2023), Report of the Intersecretariat Working Group on National Accounts on the recommendations for the update of the 2008 SNA, https://unstats.un.org/UNSDWebsite/statcom/session_55/documents/2024-9-NationalAccounts-Recommendations-EE.pdf.
[3] Pearce, D. and R. Turner (1990), Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment, Pearson Education Ltd, Great Britain.
[11] SNA Update (2023), WS.11 Guidance note on the treatment of renewable energy resources as assets, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/SNAUpdate/GuidanceNotes.asp.
[21] SNA Update (2023), WS.14 Guidance Note on The Borderline Between Taxes, Sales of Service, and Other Government Revenue Boundary Issues.
[1] UNEP (2023), Inclusive Wealth Report 2023: Measuring Sustainability and Equity, https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/43131.
[16] United Nationas et al. (2017), SEEA 2012 Applications and Extensions, https://seea.un.org/content/seea-applications-and-extensions-0.
[17] United Nations (2019), System of Environmental-Economic Accounting — Accounting for Energy, https://seea.un.org/sites/seea.un.org/files/documents/seea-energy_final_web.pdf.
[15] United Nations (2012), System of Environmental Economic Accounting for Water - Department of Economic and Social Affairs / Statistics Division. ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/100, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/seriesf/Seriesf_100e.pdf.
[6] United Nations (1993), Handbook of National Accounting - Integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/SeriesF_61E.pdf.
[7] United Nations et al. (2024), System of Environmental-Economic Accounting—Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA), https://seea.un.org/ecosystem-accounting.
[5] United Nations et al. (2014), System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012 — Central Framework, United Nations, https://seea.un.org/sites/seea.un.org/files/seea_cf_final_en.pdf.
[12] United Nations et al. (2009), System of National Accounts 2008, New York, United States, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/docs/SNA2008.pdf.
← 1. It should be noted that at the time of finalising the guide, some of the codes associated with the classification hierarchies of the 2025 SNA were still under review and may undergo change. Users are advised to consult the final published version of the SNA when it becomes available.
← 2. The theoretical green accounting literature, e.g. (Dasgupta, 2021[2]), sometimes uses the term “accounting prices” instead of shadow prices, probably referring to a valuation of natural resources in which externalities are accounted for.
← 3. Multiple versions of the TEV framework have been proposed that differ in some of the details such as the placement of option value.
← 4. Resource rent is defined as the return to natural resources used in production, as will be further explained in Chapter 3.
← 5. There are also several related handbooks such as the SEEA 2012 Applications and Extensions (United Nationas et al., 2017[16]) which provides examples of the use of the accounts in research and policy analysis; the SEEA for Water (United Nations, 2012[15]); SEEA Energy (United Nations, 2019[17]); SEEA for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (SEEA AFF), (FAO and UN, 2020[18]).
← 6. “The accounting framework of the SNA allows economic data to be compiled and presented in a format that is designed for purposes of economic analysis, decision-taking and policymaking.” (2025 SNA, §1.3). “The main objective of the integrated framework of national accounts is to provide a comprehensive conceptual and accounting framework that can be used to create a macroeconomic database suitable for analysing and evaluating the performance of an economy. The existence of such a database is a prerequisite for informed, rational policymaking and decision-taking.” (2025 SNA, §1.48).
← 7. During the SNA update process, there was discussion about the definition of natural resources, especially of the words “naturally occurring” given that produced assets do not occur naturally. However, it was decided to align with the SEEA CF definition of environmental assets which also includes produced assets.
← 8. The SNA and SEEA provide very specific definitions. The Dasgupta review (2021[2]) uses the terms nature, natural capital, the natural environment, the biosphere, and the natural world interchangeably.
← 9. List of Guidance Notes for the 2028 SNA update: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/SNAUpdate/GuidanceNotes.asp
← 10. Treatment of depletion as a cost of production may also have an effect on GDP to the extent production of natural resources is undertaken by government for its own final use (as a non-market production process), through the sum-of-cost approach for measuring output (2025 SNA, §7.137). This would likely occur only infrequently.
← 11. Edens (2013[19]) contains a summary of these discussions, distinguishing between three main proposals. The proposal (associated with Vanoli) to see subsoil asset as “gifts from nature”; depletion would be seen as a withdrawal from inventories and equal to the full resource rent. A proposal (going back to Repetto and the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis work in the early 1990s) to see subsoil assets as assets that become produced through the act of discovery; depletion would hence be netted off by discoveries. El-Serafy’s “user cost” approach which splits the resource rent into an income and depletion element; depletion was deducted both from GDP and NDP.
← 12. Although there are arguably analytical differences between depreciation (the costs of using manmade resources) and depletion (the present value of a potential loss of income in future periods due to the use of natural resources in the current period).
← 13. 2025 SNA (§1.68) states: “Natural resources such as land, mineral deposits, fuel reserves, renewable energy resources, uncultivated forests or other vegetation and wild animals are included in the balance sheets provided that institutional units are exercising effective ownership rights over them, that is, are actually in a position to be able to benefit from them.”
← 14. The 2025 SNA (§11.200) states: “Although these resources as such are generally not scarce, the exploitation of these resources may be restricted to certain economic agents, for example by needing permissions to put wind turbines on land or having ownership of particular pieces of land which are highly favourable for exploiting renewable resources.”
← 15. Eurostat (2024[20]) discusses the treatment of electricity production by households and recommends that “for practical reasons the households’ production of electricity with so-called balcony solar panels (also known as mini solar systems) does not need to be recorded. This assessment might change when this type of production reaches significant amounts.” The 2025 SNA however seems to support the exclusion of balcony panels on conceptual grounds as their use of renewable energy resources is not exclusive, as these panels can be moved to a different location.
← 16. Presentation “Accounting for Biological Resources”, 26th Advisory Expert Group (AEG) on National Accounts, 2022: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/nationalaccount/aeg/2022/M19/M19_6_WS8_Accounting_Biological_Resources_Pres.pdf.
← 17. SNA Update Guidance note WS.14 on The Borderline Between Taxes, Sales of Service, and Other Government Revenue Boundary Issues (SNA Update, 2023[21]) in section II discusses the use of the terms “resource rent” and “rent” in the various statistical standards. In the 2008 SNA, GFSM 2014 and ESA 2010 these terms are synonyms (D.45). It was called “resource rent” or simply “rent” as it concerned a resource lease. By contrast, the OECD Measuring capital handbook (OECD 2009) and the SEEA CF understand resource rent as a different concept, namely capital services, which is also followed in the 2025 SNA (see Chapter 3 in this guide for a more detailed discussion of rent and resource rent).
← 18. There is a whole literature investigating the so-called resource curse, i.e. the paradoxical situation where countries rich in natural resources such as mineral or oil and gas appear to have poor development outcomes.
← 19. 2025 SNA (para. A2.28) explains that “The entries for costs of ownership transfer on non-produced non-financial assets (excluding natural resources) (AN116) and costs of ownership transfer on non-produced natural resources (AN35) are anomalous. These flows exist and are treated as part of fixed capital formation, that is as the acquisition of fixed assets. However, when stock levels are itemised, the value of these costs of ownership transfer is included with the non-produced assets (excluding natural resources) and non-produced natural resources to which they refer and so are not shown separately as part of AN11 or AN3.” They can be understood as virtual codes which is why they are presented in parentheses in the SNA.
← 20. No change compared to the 2008 SNA.
← 21. Note that slightly different terminology and concepts can be found: the Guidance Note WS 8 (SNA Update 2023b) uses forest land; the EFA uses wooded land; Eurostat and OECD (2015) use forestry land.
← 22. “In all but exceptional cases, though, [aquatic resources maintained for reproduction] will be small and may be ignored unless of significant importance.” (§11.215)
← 23. Some biological resources (e.g. trees) will continue to grow until they are harvested.
← 24. Technically, after maturation these resources would no longer be considered work-in-progress but finished products, so this recommendation de facto implies that work-in-progress is extended to inventories.
← 25. No change compared to the 2008 SNA.
← 26. “A confined aquifer is an aquifer below the land surface that is saturated with water. Layers of impermeable material are both above and below the aquifer, causing it to be under pressure so that when the aquifer is penetrated by a well, the water will rise above the top of the aquifer. A water table – or unconfined – aquifer is an aquifer whose upper water surface (water table) is at atmospheric pressure, and thus is able to rise and fall. Water table aquifers are usually closer to the Earth's surface than confined aquifers are, and as such are impacted by drought conditions sooner than confined aquifers.” (See https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-difference-between-a-confined-and-unconfined-water-table-aquifer#:~:text=A%20confined%20aquifer%20is%20an,the%20top%20of%20the%20aquifer).
← 27. Arguably, renewable water resources may also be subject to depletion. However, different from non-renewable water resources, renewable water resources are subject to regeneration.
← 28. The revision of the SEEA CF was decided during the 55th session of the UN Statistical Commission in 2024. A list of issues has been put together for global consultation. This is available at: https://seea.un.org/sites/seea.un.org/files/area_b1_table_of_central_framework_update_topics_0.xlsx
← 29. Permits to use natural resources do not occur naturally, but they are recorded under natural resources by convention.