Biodiversity credits remain somewhat the holy grail in conservation. Imagine being paid to manage nature – not for farming or mining or fishing – but simply for being, nature. Yet like the holy grail, the promise outshines the reality. Carbon credits have struggled to meet expectations. Various attempts like He Waka Eke Noa and the ETS have failed to link markets to nature.
But a new report by the BNZ, Deloitte and The Nature Conservancy predicts a brighter future. ‘Connecting Nature, Climate’ and Capital says demand for high-integrity nature-based carbon credits is strong and growing – with carbon markets projected to grow from NZ$2.5bn today to up to NZ$35.5bn by 2030 – and that New Zealand is uniquely positioned to capitalise.
Well to explain that outrageous optimism Vincent was joined by authors Louise Aitken of Deloitte and Erik van Eyndhoven of the Nature Conservancy.
The report can be found here.
