EU launches nature credit roadmap to ‘put nature on the balance sheet’

The European Commission has launched a roadmap to develop clear standards and certification for nature credits, essentially allowing the monetisation of ecosystem services.

The roadmap aims to create a reliable framework to avoid greenwashing and ensure that nature credits – which reward landowners for protecting or restoring biodiversity – are an effective lever to increase investment in nature.

“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 encourages 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,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Call for feedback on nature credits

The Commission is now inviting all interested parties including businesses and civil society to submit feedback on the initiative until September 30, 2025. It plans to establish an expert group to promote a bottom-up approach building on existing initiatives.

Biodiversity credits have emerged in recent years as a way to compensate farmers and landowners for protecting nature while allowing companies to fulfill their nature investment goals – but a lack of harmonisation and regulatory oversight so far has meant limited demand.

The roadmap could support the development of this market by standardising measurements and monitoring on these projects.

“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,” added Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. 

Towards ‘an international compliance offset market’?

The roadmap was generally welcomed by the sustainability community, but the Green Finance Observatory expressed concerns that it would pave the way for nature offsetting, “despite the scientific consensus that biodiversity offsetting is impossible in most cases”. 

The think tank expects the EU to create mandatory restoration targets under the Nature Restoration Law, which could be met by using nature credits. 

The roadmap states that “at the policy level, Member States could for example use nature credits to recognise individual contributions to national targets and obligations under the Nature Restoration Regulation, or under the GBF.” We understand it to mean that mandatory restoration targets for Member States could be used to create regulatory demand for the credits, via the transfer of the requirements to individual companies.

“Overall, the roadmap confirms in our view that nature credits will be an international compliance offset market,” the organisation states, arguing that efforts would be better spent removing subsidies that harm biodiversity.

“Privatising conservation policies will weaken them by introducing a profitability requirement. We believe that potential corporate buyers should be very wary of reputational and regulatory risks. We fear that the revenues from the sale of these credits will not prove a poor substitute to decreasing agricultural subsidies,” the think tank warns.