EU proposes Nature Credits Roadmap

01 September 2025

By Jenny Brunton, Senior European Policy Advisor

On 7 July 2025, the European Commission published its ‘Roadmap towards Nature Credits’. This has been done to incentivise private investments into actions that preserve and protect nature. The roadmap sets out a bottom-up approach which outlines how to increase investment in nature credits. It has 3 main objectives:

Develop clear standards and reliable certification to make credits effective and trustworthy, drawing on already existing standards.
Scale investments in biodiversity and ecosystem restoration using market instruments.
Complement public funding with private finance.

The EU is currently piloting nature credit initiatives in France, Estonia, and Peru and is working with international partners such as the Biodiversity Credit Alliance, the World Economic Forum and the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits.

Roadmap Towards Nature Credits Timeline

2025: Launch of a public consultation (open until 30 September 2025) and establishment of an expert group - comprising governments, scientists, land stewards, local and Indigenous communities, businesses, and NGOs - for methodology and governance development. Applications for the group are open until 10 September 2025.
2025–2026: Technical groundwork, including market assessment, standard development, and involvement in international biodiversity financing dialogues.
2025–2027: Rolling out pilot projects: wetland restoration in France, sustainable forestry in Estonia, and biodiversity initiatives in Peru via Green Assist.
By 2027: Move toward a governance-ready framework for a scalable EU-wide nature credits system.

What are Nature Credits?

Nature credits are an EU-designed mechanism to incentivise private investment in biodiversity restoration and ecosystem protection. They work similarly to carbon credits, but rather than rewarding carbon reduction, they reward positive biodiversity outcomes from actions like wetland restoration, reforestation, or regenerative farming.

This market-based approach aims to complement limited public funding, with the EU facing an annual biodiversity investment gap of around €65 billion.

The EU’s roadmap on nature credits aims to:

Unlock Private Finance: Nature credits aim to attract investment from companies, financial institutions, and public actors into biodiversity initiatives.

Support Land Stewards: Farmers, foresters, fishers, and local communities could gain financial returns for their nature-positive actions.

Broaden Environmental Utility: Nature credits are being considered for use across sectors—ESG reporting, supply chain sustainability, environmental permitting, green finance, insurance, and more.

A benefit for farmers?

Biodiversity is harder to quantify than carbon; ensuring effective metrics, transparency, and additionality is critical to avoid past pitfalls seen in carbon markets. Without strict standards and governance, nature credits could become a loophole rather than a tool for genuine restoration.

Overall, the EU’s Nature Credits proposal is a pioneering step to mobilise private capital for biodiversity via a carefully designed, inclusive, and phased approach. The system prioritises credibility, equity, and environmental science, though it faces complex challenges that must be addressed via strong governance and stakeholder collaboration.

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