An independent environmental markets administrator in Australia has joined a broad partnership that is in the process of bidding for government funding to launch an initiative to drive investments in nature positive carbon, biodiversity, and natural capital initiatives.
Non-profit Eco-Markets Australia has partnered with the Nature Positive Economy Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), it was announced Thursday.
CRCs are academia, government, and business partnerships selected for government funding over a period of time to drive research and investments into areas considered to be in Australia’s national interest.
The Nature Positive Economy CRC was launched last year through the University of Adelaide and South Australian government agency Green Industries SA, but has picked up a number of partners since as it prepares for its funding bid, which if successful would see it receive support from mid-2025.
“This partnership aims to expand the water-quality market and drive significant improvements in our environment,” the CRC said Thursday.
“Eco-Markets Australia brings expertise in market standards and nature financing, crucial for fostering a robust nature-positive economy in Australia.”
Eco-Markets oversees the registry for reef credits, which are awarded to land-owners for preventing dissolved inorganic nitrogen from reaching the Great Barrier reef and depleting the water quality there.
“Together, Eco-Markets Australia and Nature Positive Economy CRC are committed to building a sustainable future. Their focus on market integrity and attracting investors is key to enhancing the value of natural capital.”
Earlier this week, the Australian Land Conservation Alliance (ALCA), an umbrella group for private land conservation, became a CRC partner.
That comes just over a month after two of the main land-based carbon project developers in the country, Climate Friendly and Regenco, signed up.
When the initiative was launched last year, the founders said they aimed to support A$2 billion in annual investments in nature-based markets in Australia.
“The CRC aims to develop the market infrastructure needed for businesses to confidently engage in carbon offsetting, biodiversity credit trading, and other activities that support natural systems and processes at the scale needed to make real, fair, and sustainable change,” Ian Overton, chief executive of Green Industries SA, said at the time.
Australia’s parliament in December passed legislation that establishes a national voluntary biodiversity credit market – the Nature Repair Market – though observers remain concerned about how that scheme will function in practice.
The federal government announced in August it will host a global nature positive summit in Sydney in early October this year to drive private-sector investment in nature conservation and restoration projects, just weeks before COP16 begins in Colombia.
By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com
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