The European Union has taken a significant step in the field of global financing for nature conservation. During the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Yerevan, Armenia, it officially launched international initiative with the name Friends of Nature and Biodiversity Credits (Friends of Credits for Nature and BiodiversityThe initiative was launched on behalf of the European Union by the Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. Jessica Roswall at a side event organised by the EU together with France and Peru.

What are nature credits and what is their role?

Protecting the environment and restoring damaged ecosystems requires extensive financial resources. While state budgets remain crucial for biodiversity conservation, public resources are facing increasing pressure. Nature credits are innovative financial instruments, which aim to attract private investment in the protection, restoration and maintenance of nature.

The mechanism works by financially rewarding individuals and organisations – particularly farmers, foresters and other land managers – who implement measurable actions to benefit ecosystems on their land. By making environmental activities more visible, credible and investable, nature credits help to fill the global biodiversity financing gap. Commissioner Jessika Roswall stressed that this is an opportunity for both business and nature itself, as credits generate income for conservationists while also delivering returns for investors.

A broad international coalition

Initiative Friends of Nature and Biodiversity Credits is conceived as an informal, inclusive platform led by governments. Its main goal is to build international support for the nature credits market and strengthen global cooperation in financing biodiversity conservation.

The initiative attracted considerable interest from various regions of the world when it was launched. In addition to the European Union and the co-host countries of France and Peru, countries such as: Finland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Australia, Botswana, Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand. Many other countries have also expressed interest in participating.

The initiative's work complements the work of major international organizations and expert panels, including:

• Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA)
• International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB)
• International Environmental Governance (IEG)
• OECD a International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Global goals and long-term EU strategy

The initiative directly supports the European Union's efforts to achieve the global goals set out in Kunming and Montreal Biodiversity Frameworks (GBF), which requires adequate funding from public, private and philanthropic sources.

The European Union has long been one of the main supporters of global biodiversity, spending an average of 1 billion euros per year. An example of large-scale funding is also the initiative Nature Africa, launched in 2022 with a budget of €1.4 billion to support nature conservation in Africa as part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030.

In July 2025, the EU adopted The EU roadmap to nature credits (EU Roadmap towards Nature Credits), which sets out a framework for research, pilot projects, stakeholder consultations and practical testing of reliable and trustworthy credit mechanisms.

What will be the next steps?

Initiative activities Friends of Nature and Biodiversity Credits will not end with the launch at the COP 17 summit. Further international cooperation is planned, including a special EU side event at the climate conference UNFCCC COP 31 (November 18), which will focus on the close connection between nature conservation and climate. The initiative members' future work will also include formal approval of Joint statement (Joint Statement) of member governments, which will set common priority directions for building a transparent market for nature credits. JRi&CO2AI