The European Commission announced the launch of its “Roadmap towards Nature Credits,” aimed at helping to develop a new market for nature credits, enabling farmers and foresters to fund activities to protect and preserve biodiversity and ecosystems through the facilitation of private capital flows from companies and investors.
Similar in concept to carbon credits, which represent actions to reduce and sequester a fixed amount of carbon emissions, nature credits would represent activities that protect and restore biodiversity and ecosystems targeting nature-focused outcomes based on specific metrics and indicators.
According to the Commission, the new initiative comes as biodiversity loss and climate change represent significant threats to agriculture and farming, yet major gaps exist in helping farmers and land managers to fund more sustainable practices, including an estimated €37 billion annual biodiversity funding gap in Europe. Nature credits could be sold to companies looking to meet sustainability goals, while revenue generated from the sale of the credits would go back to the land managers to reward the more sustainable practices and enable reinvestment.
By developing a trusted nature credit market, the initiative aims to increase certainty of investments in nature positive actions, such as supporting pollinators or restoring dry ecosystems, increasing the uptake of more sustainable agricultural production models and protecting long-term food security in the EU.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:
“We have to put nature on the balance sheet. That’s exactly what nature credits do. When well-designed, they will provide an efficient, market-driven instrument that encourage the private sector to invest and innovate. With investment and innovation, we generate revenue for those who work to protect nature, including our farmers, our landowners, our foresters.”
Under the new initiative, the Commission said that it aims to develop clear standards and reliable certification for nature-positive actions in order to make nature credits effective and trustworthy, while also ensuring the avoidance of administrative burdens for providers.
Under the new roadmap, the Commission said that it will establish a dedicated expert group including member states, stakeholder and technical experts to co-develop certification methodologies and governance principles for nature credits, with first results expected in 2026. From 2025 – 2027, the Commission will launch a pilot project on nature credits, and it will subsequently consider next steps for the development and scaling up of nature credit markets.
Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, said:
“Nature credits have the potential to attract essential private investment, while also rewarding those who are the custodians of our land and seas, including farmers, foresters and local communities. Our goal is clear: working hand in hand with nature and turning this into an opportunity for a resilient and competitive economy.”
Click here to access the EU Commission’s nature credits roadmap.
