Regulating offsetting and ensuring alignment with carbon farming and the Nature Restoration Law (NRL) are emerging as key issues for the newly established EU Expert Group on Nature Credits, of which Jaroslav Mysiak, CMCC Principal Scientist and NATURANCE coordinator, has been appointed as a member.
Their main tasks include designing overarching methodologies for the market by mid-2026 and developing governance frameworks in 2027, as outlined in the Commission’s roadmap published last July.
While the group’s work is still in its early stages, eight members interviewed by Carbon Pulse highlighted several priorities for shaping the market and stimulating demand, which remains a major global challenge. The full analysis, titled “Behind the Scenes of a Nascent Market – EU Experts Set Nature Credit Priorities“, by Sergio Colombo, Giada Ferraglioni, and Anna Scott, was published in Nature & Biodiversity Pulse on 16 January 2026.
“Although I cannot predict the exact outcome, I believe nature credits will eventually exist in some form” Mysiak told in the interview.
Mysiak, who has worked on certificates and schemes for water as well as on connecting various financial instruments, emphasized the need to align the nature credit market with existing EU environmental policies, including the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the NRL.
“On one hand, we have legally binding targets imposed by the NRL. On the other hand, we are discussing nature credits as a means of helping to achieve those milestones and targets“, he explained. “There are specific thresholds to be met by 2030, 2050, and beyond. In this sense, demand may not be the problem: if the NRL is taken seriously, the demand could actually be substantial“.
Within the context of ecological integrity, offsetting might be feasible. “For example, if we are talking about one river basin, and ecosystem restoration contributes to improving connectivity within that basin – which depends critically on ecological integrity – offsetting can help identify solutions that are least costly for those implementing them“, he explained.
However, he also noted that comparing improvements in one place with impacts in another is extremely complex. “Offsetting essentially involves trading some improvements in one area against degradation in another, or enhancing ecological integrity elsewhere, which is not easy to establish or measure“.
Mysiak also emphasized that company presence is a positive aspect, as the group is large enough to represent different ideas on the market.
“As the essential purpose of nature restoration is also to tap into private funding and finance, it makes sense to engage with private businesses and understand how they view the opportunities“, he said. “If there is a concern that the process could be guided by private or business interests, I do not think this is likely“.