A groundbreaking biodiversity credit market is emerging in Australia, offering a transformative approach to conservation by turning natural capital into investible assets.

Traditionally dominated by minerals and agriculture, Australia’s economy is now poised to embrace biodiversity as a cornerstone of sustainability investment.

This Tuesday, during Sydney’s Climate Action Week, Dr Kate Dodds of Corporate Carbon Group will lead a discussion on how biodiversity credit markets could reshape green infrastructure investment.

Biodiversity credits, long considered the missing link between conservation and finance, are becoming tangible through enforceable certificates.

“Biodiversity credits have been an idea just out of reach,” said Dr Dodds.

“Now Australia has the chance to make them real. We must act quickly to set the standard and create methodologies before others do, leveraging our unique position as a country.”

Unlike carbon credits, biodiversity credits lack a single measurable unit, complicating standardisation.

Dr Dodds highlighted this challenge: “There is no easy way to compare, say, a koala habitat to a coral reef. Without standardisation, we risk slowing the market before it starts.”

However, if implemented effectively, biodiversity markets could unlock billions in investments for large-scale green infrastructure projects.

Beyond environmental benefits, such infrastructure enhances climate resilience and liveability — shifting its perception from an added cost to a profitable asset for developers.

Australia’s biodiversity credit market builds on initiatives like New South Wales’ Biodiversity Offsets Scheme, where landowners generate credits by protecting ecosystems under stewardship agreements.

These credits can command high premiums, with prices ranging from $400 for certain woodlands to $41,000 for rare habitats like the Cumberland Plain Woodland.

Globally, biodiversity markets are gaining traction.

At COP15 in 2022, over 190 countries committed to protecting 30 per cent of the planet by 2030 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

This has spurred private-sector interest in biodiversity credits as tools for mitigating nature-related risks while generating financial returns.

PwC estimates that Australia’s biodiversity market could generate $137 billion in financial flows by 2050.

However, experts caution that issues like liquidity, fungibility, and transparency must be addressed to ensure market integrity.

For biodiversity markets to thrive, stakeholders must develop robust governance frameworks and methodologies.

High-integrity credits will attract private investment and help align businesses with global sustainability goals like the GBF and Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

Dr Dodds concluded with optimism: “If we get this right, biodiversity markets could transform green infrastructure from a research concept into large-scale projects worth billions.”

By turning conservation into an asset class, Australia has the opportunity to lead the world in integrating nature into economic systems.