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The Changing Wealth of Nations: Valuation of Hydroelectric Assets in the Context of the Changing Wealth of Nations 2024

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2024-10-29
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2024-10-29
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The absence of hydroelectric assets (along with solar, wind, and other renewable energy assets) from the Changing Wealth of Nations (CWON) natural capital accounts in the past was a concern. Since fossil fuel assets have always been included in CWON, there was an imbalance in its treatment of non-renewable and renewable energy assets. Given the climate-related consequences of fossil fuel use, this imbalance risked sending distorted signals to users of the CWON database regarding the relative economic importance of carbon-intensive, non-renewable energy sources versus less climate damaging renewable sources like hydro. This imbalance is now rectified by treating renewable energy assets, beginning with hydroelectric assets here in CWON 2024, the same as fossil fuels. This report presents the methods and data sources used to value hydroelectric assets in CWON 2024 in their full detail, beginning with the rationale for valuing these resources in CWON.
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World Bank. 2024. The Changing Wealth of Nations: Valuation of Hydroelectric Assets in the Context of the Changing Wealth of Nations 2024. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42321 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.
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