Can Biodiversity Credits Save the Planet?
Welcome to the new economy. No, not the internet economy. Not the AI economy. Not even the green energy economy. I’m talking about something even more fundamental: the economy of nature itself.
We’re standing at a crossroads in human history, where the health of our planet’s biodiversity is being priced, packaged, and sold as biodiversity credits. Think of them as nature’s version of carbon credits — units of biodiversity gain that companies or investors can buy to offset their ecological sins or simply to do good. But before we hail this as the savior of the planet, let me offer a bit of perspective on the opportunities and the dangers of turning trees, tigers, and tadpoles into tradable assets.
The Promise of Nature’s Markets
The logic of biodiversity credits is compelling. If you can quantify and commodify the value of conserving or restoring nature, you can create incentives for businesses to align their profits with the planet’s health. Imagine if a company could offset the biodiversity it impacts in its supply chain by funding the restoration of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil or protecting Coral Reefs in Australia. Done right, this could be a game-changer.
We’ve seen how carbon credits — despite their flaws — have brought billions of dollars into emissions reduction…
