We find that EU’s €37bn biodiversity funding gap could be closed entirely by redirecting existing subsidies to harmful activities;
While we understand the political trade-offs that led to choosing instead to privatise and financialise EU’s conservation policies, we find that “making nature investable” is not compatible with the public good nature of most ecosystems and would be a self-defeating strategy;
We understand the reference to a mitigation hierarchy to indicate that nature credits will come after – and thus legitimise – biodiversity offsetting;
The draft leaves crucial questions unanswered, such as whether international credits and offsetting in the Global South will be allowed, or whether speculation on the future price of credits will be allowed;
We hope that references in the draft to “water resilience” and restoring “our natural water cycle” do not indicate a willingness to include water pollution offsetting within nature credits;
Overall, we hope that the Commission will reconsider its support for nature credits/offsets, and refocus on addressing the root causes of the biodiversity crisis.
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