Nature Markets Framework Update

Theo Bromfield. Fola Sustainability
Theo Bromfield
March 15, 2024
Read time: 2.5 minutes
Fields in nature. Fola

In Brief:

1. The UK government has updated its progress under the Nature Markets Framework
2. Finance is available to support farmers to access private finance
3. Progress to develop nature investment standards is well under way
4. The woodland Carbon and Peatland codes have seen an increase in registered projects
5. New funding is available to support nutrient neutrality

Private finance has a vital role to play in delivering the UK government’s nature protection and restoration ambitions and achieving its Environment Improvement Plan.

This week the UK government updated its progress under the Nature Markets Framework. The framework sets out the government’s approach to scaling private investment into nature’s recovery and sustainable farming. It has a goal of raising at least £500 million of private investment into nature recovery every year by 2027, rising to more than £1 billion by 2030.

Key highlights from the update include:

1. How the government is supporting land managers to access nature markets. This includes a third round of the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF) which provides grants between £10,000 - £100,000 to support farmers to access private finance.  

2. The development of nature investments standards to increase buyer and seller confidence in nature markets. These are being developed via the British Standards Institution (BSI) who have now identified key priorities for nature market standards and shaped key principles. These are available in a new discovery report.

3. Biodiversity Net Gain which became mandatory for major developments in February this year. The update suggested that 10% gain will not always be possible onsite and that a vibrant offsite market it critical for further development. Analysis suggests that this market is likely to be worth between £135 and £274 million annually.

Hills in nature. Fola

4. Insights into nutrient neutrality and the government’s £140 million investment into pump priming nutrient mitigation. Natural England’s Nutrient Mitigation Scheme (NMS) has made over 4,000 credits available for homes in the Tees and Cleveland Coast catchment and intends to expand this to other areas. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUH) has also announced the first tranche of capital funding though the Local Nutrient Mitigation Fund (LNMF) with c. £57 million awarded to eight successful bids.

5. Insights into the UK Woodland Carbon Code which has over 2,000 registered projects (as of December 2023) and the UK Peatland Code which has over 240 (as of February 2024). Both codes are developing standardised contracts between sellers and buyers of carbon credits and other ecosystem service credits,  alongside a method to measure, assess and credit biodiversity benefits.

5. Information on the UK’s efforts to shape nature markets internationally including the planned launch of the Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markers (VCNM) consultation which will explore how the UK can its domestic nature market infrastructure to support international biodiversity market growth. In partnership with France, the UK has set up an  independent International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB)  to support the scaling-up of high integrity nature markets.

In this article we have pulled out some of the key points but you can find the full policy paper on the Nature Markets Framework progress here.

Please feel free to reach out to Fola with any question and queries. We’re always on hand to chat.