CRÉDITS ET COMPENSATION DE LA BIODIVERSITÉ

The document critiques biodiversity credits and offsets as illusory mechanisms that facilitate 'greenwashing' and allow destructive companies to avoid responsibility. It argues that these market-based tools simplify complex ecosystems into tradable units, often leading to human rights violations, land grabbing, and the displacement of local communities. The text suggests that instead of market mechanisms, biodiversity should be funded by redirecting harmful subsidies and supporting indigenous-led governance.

• Biodiversity offsets are categorized into two types: 'avoided losses,' which claim to prevent degradation in a threatened area, and habitat restoration, which aims to restore degraded ecosystems. However, the document asserts that no known case exists of restoring an ecosystem to its original levels, particularly for primary forests.
• Biodiversity credits are financial certificates representing species or habitats saved or restored, which can be sold to private actors for offsetting or reputation management. The document predicts that offsetting will be the primary use of these credits, mirroring the trajectory of carbon credits.
• The market for biodiversity credits primarily benefits destructive private companies, certification firms, consultants, and financial institutions. Conversely, it poses significant risks to indigenous peoples and local communities, including land rights conflicts, forced displacement, and threats to food sovereignty.
• The document argues that biodiversity offsets are 'worse than nothing' because they create an illusion of action that masks political inaction and allows projects to bypass the 'mitigation hierarchy' (avoiding or reducing damage) in favor of cheaper offsetting options.
• As an alternative to market mechanisms, the document proposes redirecting existing harmful subsidies—estimated by the UN at 1.7 trillion dollars—and utilizing direct grants and performance-based payments that support indigenous-led governance.
• The document identifies several technical and systemic flaws in biodiversity credits, including the oversimplification of species interactions, the impossibility of proving 'additionality,' and the risk of 'double counting' where multiple parties claim the same environmental benefit.
• The commodification of nature is expanding beyond carbon and biodiversity to include water pollution permits (launched in the UK in 2023) and plastic credits (with approximately 160 projects registered by the end of 2023, mostly in developing countries).

APA

Hache, F., Ching, L. L., Lin, L. L., Fernández, M. I., Marien, N., Kill, J., Dellasta, H., Martínez, V. F., Cabello, J., Witchger, J., Picken, T., Prado, A. A., van der Mark, M., Lingam, T., Gilbertson, T., Gualinga, E. S., & Counsell, S. (2025). CRÉDITS ET COMPENSATION DE LA BIODIVERSITÉ. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/21-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-FAQ-FR-hr-online-use-2.pdf

Chicago

Hache, Frédéric, Lim Li Ching, Lim Li Lin, Mirna Ines Fernández, Nele Marien, Jutta Kill, Heitor Dellasta, et al. CRÉDITS ET COMPENSATION DE LA BIODIVERSITÉ. Friends of the Earth International, 2025. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/21-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-FAQ-FR-hr-online-use-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{hache2025crdits, author = {Hache, Frédéric and Ching, Lim Li and Lin, Lim Li and Fernández, Mirna Ines and Marien, Nele and Kill, Jutta and Dellasta, Heitor and Martínez, Valentina Figuera and Cabello, Joanna and Witchger, Joshua and Picken, Tom and Prado, Amelia Arreguin and van der Mark, Merel and Lingam, Theiva and Gilbertson, Tamra and Gualinga, Emil Sirén and Counsell, Simon}, title = {{CRÉDITS ET COMPENSATION DE LA BIODIVERSITÉ}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2025}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/21-FoEI-Biodiversity-offsets-FAQ-FR-hr-online-use-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }