The UK and France have jointly introduced the UK-French Global Biodiversity Credits Roadmap, a fresh initiative intended to expand the market for biodiversity credits.
The new UK- French Global Biodiversity Credits Roadmap launched by Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey at the Summit for a New Financial Pact in Paris sets out a plan for scaling up global efforts to support companies buying credits that contribute to the recovery of nature in a credible way.
France hosted in Paris, on June 22 and 23, 2023, the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, whose stated aim was to lay the groundwork for a renewed financial system suited to the common challenges of the 21st century, such as fighting inequalities and climate change and protecting biodiversity.
Biodiversity credits are instruments that allow individuals and companies to invest in environmental projects that contribute to richer biodiversity or restore nature. This could be in a rainforest, ocean, grasslands or other habitats globally. A credit would record where the environmental action has taken place, who has developed it, and how it is measured and checked. These credits enable companies to invest in projects that protect and restore nature, similar to how carbon credits help reduce emissions.
The roadmap was unveiled at the Summit for a New Financial Pact in Paris, which aims to create a financial system capable of addressing global challenges like climate change, nature loss, and poverty. The initiative will mobilize private sector funding to conserve and restore nature, aligning with the goals outlined in the COP15 agreement.
The roadmap will work towards key international milestones, such as the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16), where financing for biodiversity will be high on the agenda.
The roadmap includes measures like sharing best practices, implementing effective governance mechanisms, ensuring biodiversity improvements, and distributing income equitably among indigenous peoples and local communities. To facilitate this effort, an advisory panel of global experts will be formed to guide working groups on biodiversity credits.
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. We’re grateful to be working alongside France and look forward to collaborating with many other countries and organisations in delivering the roadmap.
Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey
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.
Dame Amelia Fawcett, co-chair of the UK-French Advisory Panel