The governments of the UK and France announced today the launch of the UK- French Global Biodiversity Credits Roadmap, a new initiative aimed at scaling up the market for companies to buy biodiversity credits and mobilize finance for projects that contribute to nature recovery.

Similar to their emissions reduction-focused carbon credit counterpart, biodiversity credits are instruments used to finance activities that deliver biodiversity-positive gains by allowing companies to invest in projects that contribute to nature protection and restoration in habitats such as rainforests, oceans or grasslands, with the credit measuring the environmental action, as well as recording where it took place and who developed the project.

The roadmap is being launched at the Summit for a New Financial Pact in Paris, which is aimed at fostering a financial system that can address global challenges such as climate change, nature loss and poverty, and particularly meet the needs of developing countries.

UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey, said:

“Mobilising finance is key to meeting the global goals set out in the COP15 agreement. Initiatives like the Roadmap on Biodiversity Credits launched today will help ensure private sector financing is leveraged to conserve and restore nature.”

The new UK-French roadmap sets out a plan to scale up global efforts to support companies buying biodiversity credits, with initiatives including sharing best practices on governance mechanisms for the credit funding, as well as monitoring regimes that ensure biodiversity improvements, and the fair distribution of income to indigenous peoples and local communities.

Coffey and French State Minister Bérangère Couillard also announced the launch of an advisory panel to bring together experts from around the world to form and guide working groups on biodiversity credits.

Dame Amelia Fawcett, co-chair of the UK-French Advisory Panel, said:

“I am delighted to be asked by the Governments of France and the United Kingdom to co-chair this important and inclusive Advisory Group which will help the global community maximise the benefits to Nature, people and planet represented by biodiversity credit markets.”