WWF on Monday released the conditions it requires for it to be able to potentially endorse the sale of voluntary biodiversity credits, including no offsetting.

The NGO said in a position paper that it recognises both the role that biodiversity credits could play in raising conservation finance and the potential risks of such instruments, .

“If the world agrees on a smart and just path forward for biodiversity credits, we believe they can make a meaningful contribution to the end goal of reversing global nature loss,” it said.

“WWF will not develop, endorse, promote, or encourage sale of voluntary biodiversity credits unless clear conditions are met.”

The conditions covered:

• Biodiversity credit buyers: no offsetting, strict buyer eligibility criteria, robust buyers claims, and no secondary market trading
• Biodiversity credit projects: respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, focus on areas of highest importance for biodiversity, apply principles for demonstrating additionality and durability
• Governance: In place for both buyers and projects

WWF is engaged in pilots including ‘wildlife credits’ in Northern Tanzania, and ‘biodiversity certificates’ in forests in France, it said.

The NGO said it is balancing its optimism for biodiversity credits with attention to concerns, acknowledging the instruments will evolve rapidly.

“Fundamental to our approach, nonetheless, is a conviction that biodiversity credits should work fairly for both nature and people.”

“Biodiversity credits must respect and uphold human rights, and where possible projects should be designed by local biodiversity stewards, with Indigenous Peoples and local communities receiving the majority of the credit payment.”

NO OFFSETS

Companies should not rely on biodiversity credits as a replacement for addressing their own environmental impacts, the WWF said.

Debate around biodiversity credits has surged over the last few years over whether they need to be driven by offsetting to attract the finance necessary to reach meaningful scale, alongside concerns about legitimising environmental destruction.

WWF proposed a definition of biodiversity credits: “A certificate that represents a measured and evidence-based positive biodiversity outcome from nature restoration, conservation, or stewardship activities, that is not purchased for the purpose of offsetting residual negative impacts caused to biodiversity.”

Companies may use credits as part of voluntary contributions to conservation, either tied to their supply chain or independently, or for philanthropic purposes, it said.

“A company should not claim to be ‘nature positive’, but can claim to ‘contribute to a global nature positive goal’ through the purchase of voluntary biodiversity credits.”

Buyers of credits should be aligned with criteria such as having science-based targets for nature, while prioritising the retirement of credits over secondary trading.

The NGO stressed that most efforts around biodiversity credits remain in their infancy, following a boost from their inclusion in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022.

Last week, a non-profit warned biodiversity credits could be a distraction for governments during the COP16 UN biodiversity summit, as leaders need to prioritise public commitments to plug the nature finance gap.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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