Can a vital statistic help to save the planet?
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThe Biden administration wants to change that. Last month the White House unveiled a 15-year plan for an ambitious—albeit wonkish—environmental initiative. Its Office of Science and Technology Policy and a dozen other government agencies aim to develop natural-capital accounts that record changes in America’s stock of natural resources, and quantify losses.
The patchy data that exist suggest that in recent years America’s natural resources have taken a beating. According to the World Bank, which has tracked high-level changes in the value of some assets by measuring market prices and availability , between 2010 and 2018 the value of forests and mangroves in America declined by 10%. That of ten minerals—among them copper and iron—dropped by 51%.
But progress should not be ignored, either. Nicholas Muller, an economist, found that by overlooking the air-quality improvements triggered by the Clean Air Act, statistics underestimated income growth by as much as 3% a year. More breathable air meant workers faced fewer health problems and could be more productive. Better measures of how nature contributes to the wealth of the country should bolster the economic case for its preservation.
If Mr Biden’s plan plays out as hoped, other countries will follow. “Everywhere in the world people are watching,” says Pushpam Kumar, an economist at theEnvironment Programme. His agency now tracks broad measures of natural capital in 163 countries. In 2021 Britain’s treasury published a review on the economics of biodiversity. Australia has experimental natural-capital accounts and Canada has piloted a census of the environment.