Nature credits

Overview

In July 2025, the Commission published a Roadmap towards Nature Credits, setting out a path to increasing private investment in nature-positive actions.

Nature credits are now emerging as a potentially valuable way to complement public funding with private investment, rewarding farmers, foresters, fishers, landowners and local communities who restore and protect natural ecosystems.

For private actors, nature credits can strengthen supply-chain resilience and create nature-positive investment opportunities, contributing to long-term economic stability. They aim to create science-based and trustworthy ways to measure improvements in ecosystem conditions.

Their purpose is also to help mobilise additional private finance, complementing public funding and supporting the EU’s biodiversity goals.

A woman in a forest at sunrise — © bojanstory | Getty Images

Expert Group on Nature Credits

The Commission established an Expert Group on Nature Credits last year. It provides advice and expertise to the Commission on the preparation of policy initiatives related to nature certification and nature credits.

The group facilitates cooperation between the Commission, Member States and stakeholders, gathers scientific and technical information on assessing ecosystem conditions, reviews experience from existing public and private initiatives and examines options for market infrastructure and governance.

At the same time, it ensures broad representation of stakeholders, with membership including Member States, individual experts, organisations and other public entities.

The Expert Group meets in person and remotely, following Commission guidelines.

Meetings

Documentation

Pilot initiatives

Early experience is being generated, including through Green Assist pilot projects, which are supporting the design and testing of the approach of nature credits in different contexts.

Green Assist is supporting work on wetland restoration in France, exploring how nature-positive practices and landscape-level interventions could be structured and recognised to attract additional finance.
Green Assist is contributing to the development of investment approaches for biodiversity restoration and conservation in Peru, examining how EU-based actors such as Restore could engage in high-integrity nature-positive action abroad.

These pilots provide practical insights into methodologies, governance models, monitoring tools and stakeholder engagement. They also help identify what would be required for credible and scalable approaches to nature credits in the EU.

Further information