EU, France and Peru launch global forum on high-integrity nature credits

EU, France and Peru launch global forum on high-integrity nature credits

EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall announced the launch of the Friends of Credits for Nature and Biodiversity, a government-led forum for international policy dialogue on nature credits, at a high-level event co-hosted by the European Union, France and Peru. The event took place on the sidelines of COP17, where parties are reviewing implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework for the first time.

Key facts

What are nature credits meant to do?

Roswall said the world's natural systems underpin economic, food and energy security and health, but are under severe pressure and need concrete action to protect and restore them. She argued that public finance and international biodiversity finance remain essential, but that private investment must also be mobilised, noting that more businesses and banks are engaging.

According to the commissioner, those who protect, restore or maintain healthy ecosystems often carry the costs while the benefits reach far beyond their land or communities. Nature credits, she said, are designed to correct this by recognising and rewarding measurable contributions to biodiversity while opening opportunities for farmers, foresters, fishers, land managers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities. How is the EU preparing its approach?

The European Union adopted its Roadmap towards Nature Credits in July 2025 and has established an Expert Group on Nature Credits. Roswall said the bloc is examining biodiversity metrics, governance, market demand and financing, and the conditions for credible claims, while learning from pilot projects about what works and what does not.

She stressed that biodiversity is complex and that conditions differ from place to place, with countries developing approaches that reflect their own ecosystems, institutions and national priorities. That diversity, she said, holds a wealth of knowledge, and international collaboration can teach participants about integrity, monitoring, transparency and safeguards. What will the new group do?

Roswall said the Friends of Credits for Nature and Biodiversity will offer an inclusive, government-led forum for policy dialogue and send a signal that governments intend to cooperate internationally on nature and biodiversity credits. The cooperation is to draw on the full range of global experience and build on work by the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB), the Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA) and other international partners.

The group is to give countries space to consider wider policy implications and opportunities for cooperation, help ensure that high-integrity nature credits contribute to biodiversity finance, and strengthen links between crediting approaches, national biodiversity strategies, biodiversity-finance plans and implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. What comes next?

Roswall thanked France and Peru for co-hosting the launch and said input from governments, businesses and partners would be even more important if the initiative is to deliver results for nature. She said she looked forward to shaping the cooperation together, with the group's work now set to move into international policy dialogue as countries pursue their biodiversity commitments to 2030.

Source: European Commission

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