This online session was co-organised by the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Commission Directorate-General for the Environment (DG ENV). 

It explored the role of biodiversity credits. This financial instrument is gaining increasing attention as a potential tool to redirect private investments towards biodiversity conservation. After all, farmers and forest owners for instance may be keen to contribute to biodiversity conservation, but they don't necessarily have the money to do so. Biodiversity credits are a possible solution.

There was an excellent line-up of speakers, moderated by Luca Polidori from Holland Circular Hotspot. Here are some of the main points they made!

Dr Leander Raes, Senior Economist at IUCN opened the discussion, pointing out that biodiversity credits hold significant potential and are growing in momentum.

Florian Claeys, Policy Officer at the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment:

• Target 19 of the Global Biodiversity Framework aims to mobilise funds from outside the EU budget.
• The next steps will be to raise demand for nature credits, follow up on the pilot schemes, prepare the roadmap this year, consult with stakeholders to make it an inclusive process and ensure that the EU approach aligns with international biodiversity certification.

Arnaud Schwartz, EESC member: 

• The EESC, as the house of civil society, has already issued an opinion on A comprehensive strategy for biodiversity at COP16: bringing all sectors together for a common goal. This stressed the need to protect and restore the natural ecosystems on which human beings and the majority of their economic activities depend.
• Europeans are calling for biodiversity protection.
• Civil society organisations must be consulted and should urge businesses to live up to their responsibilities. These organisations can operate biodiversity projects, giving them the chance to ensure that the projects are run on fair and inclusive lines. They can also monitor and subsequently raise public and investor confidence in biodiversity credit schemes.
• 70% of businesses are directly dependent on at least one ecosystem, so preserving ecosystems is in their own interests.

Jane Feehan, Senior Environmental Adviser at the European Investment Bank:

• Financial institutions' approach to biodiversity has evolved from declining to finance harmful projects, to capitalising on business models for investing in biodiversity, to realising that we are financially dependent on ecosystems. 
• National development banks are all coordinating on biodiversity-related schemes, and the EIB sees biodiversity credits as a tool to manage and reduce the biodiversity impact of certain projects.

Niall Curley, Senior Policy Advisor for Copa-Cogeca:

• Farmers welcome the opportunity for an additional income stream but biodiversity credit schemes need to be financially attractive for them.
• Action must be taken to avoid land grabbing by investors.
• It is unclear whether land covered by such schemes can be used for farming – it differs from country to country.
• Conditions vary, and nature credits must work for all regions.
• Farmers take the long-term view: they will need to know that these schemes will be in effect for years and that the money will not dry up if one business crashes.

Siim Kuresoo, European Forest Campaigner:

• It is essential to protect old-growth forests which shelter a huge amount of biodiversity.
• Close-to-nature forestry provides a stable income and is self-sustainable but shifting to this model from destructive forestry practices takes money.
• Well managed forests are placed at a disadvantage by subsidies for destructive methods.

Christina Laßnig-Wlad, Austrian Federal Forests (ÖBf): 

• They promote structural diversity in forests, combining biodiversity protection with more sustainable management of forests and nature protected areas.
• More money is needed.

Heitor Dellasta, Policy Co-coordinator at the Gobal Youth Biodiversity Network (GBYN):

• Biodiversity credit schemes have a very long way to go to meet expectations.
• There are attempts to push businesses to live up to their responsibilities but green washing is still too common.
• Biodiversity credits are not the answer to closing the biodiversity financing gap: non-market methods such as securing the tenure rights of indigenous peoples is a more effective way to safeguard biodiversity.

Conclusions:

• Biodiversity is unique and a one-size-fits-all solution will not work. 
• There is a tendency to view biodiversity credits as echoing carbon credit schemes but given the latter's public confidence issues that should be avoided. 
• Biodiversity credits should be separate from offsetting. 
• Action must be taken to protect and restore biodiversity and biodiversity credits may contribute to this – but they will need to be designed with care and with due regard for the views of the people who will be affected by biodiversity credit projects.