Voluntary nature market with nature ‘credits’ could unlock private finance for Irish ecosystems

Posted on: 05 September 2025

A Voluntary Nature Market – featuring nature ‘credits’– has the potential to close the multi-billion-euro nature funding gap in Ireland, according to a new report published today [5 September 2025] by Trinity College Dublin and BiOrbic Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy. 

The report, ‘The Voluntary Nature Market in Ireland: State of Play, September 2025’, maps out the key challenges and opportunities in Ireland’s burgeoning Voluntary Nature Market. The report is authored by researchers from BiOrbic Research Ireland Centre for Bioeconomy, Trinity Business School and Trinity’s School of Natural Sciences. 

It calls for the development of a high-integrity, transparent, and durable market, avoiding the pitfalls and controversies that have plagued the voluntary carbon markets in recent years. 

Orlaith Delargy, nature finance technical specialist and lead author of the report, explains: “Funding nature restoration has taken centre-stage as the EU revises the Common Agricultural Policy and rolls out major policies such as the Nature Restoration Regulation, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming Certification Regulation. The EU estimates a shortfall of €37 billion per year between current spending and what’s needed to meet our nature goals. To address this gap, new ways of financing action on the ground are needed.  

“Globally, the vast majority of nature financing comes from public sources – some 80%. A Voluntary Nature Market, similar to the Voluntary Carbon Market, could channel private investment to local projects that restore ecosystems and support communities. In the Voluntary Nature Market, conservation and restoration projects generate nature benefits, which may be packaged as nature or biodiversity ‘credits’.” 

A formal, structured voluntary nature market is not yet established in Ireland, but private financing of nature restoration is ongoing, and several public and private entities are working towards generating nature credits. The report outlines how the inclusion of private and blended finance can foster innovation, offering greater flexibility, speed and scale compared to public finance alone. 

Co-author of the report Professor Martha O’Hagan, Trinity Business School and BiOrbic, says: “In Ireland, no clear national framework is in place to guide the development of nature markets. This contrasts with the UK, where the government published principles for high integrity carbon and nature markets. 

“Private finance doesn’t replace the need for strong regulation and increased public funding for nature – but it could be part of the toolbox for scaling up nature restoration. We have an opportunity to build a high-integrity market in Ireland, but we need to get it right and make sure it delivers real benefits for ecosystems and communities."

Professor Jane Stout, Professor of Ecology and VP For Biodiversity & Climate Action, Trinity and Healthy Ecosystems lead at BiOrbic, adds: “Nature restoration is essential to support a vibrant bioeconomy and meet Ireland’s climate, water and biodiversity targets. But there is a multi-billion-euro gap between current spending and the spending that would be required to meet policy goals. This report provides a timely analysis of the emerging voluntary nature market in Ireland, details how private finance could be mobilised through such a market to support local projects and outlines best practice principles required for the development of a market that is high-integrity, transparent and durable.” 

Co-author of the report Catherine Farrell, Assistant Professor of Business and Nature in Trinity Business School and researcher at BiOrbic outlines: “Businesses want to support restoration but need to be assured their finance is directed through a credible mechanism. Learning from the pitfalls of previous voluntary markets is a valuable step forward”.  

Read the report on the Trinity Business School website. 

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