The EU's environment chief has said that the move towards rolling out 'nature credits' will have to provide a clear framework to prevent "greenwashing".

Last summer the commission published its 'Roadmap to Nature Credits'.

The purpose of nature credits is to incentivise businesses in the private sector to fund measures to protect biodiversity.

The Roadmap towards Nature Credits aims to incentivise private investments into actions that protect and preserve nature, and reward those who undertake these actions and invest in them.

However, the roadmap received some criticism when it was published over a perceived lack of clarity on key details.

The European Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall said that the roadmap, and future EU policy on nature credits, will have to provide clarity around the details in order to prevent greenwashing - the practice of claiming that policies or measures are environmentally positive when they may not be.

The commissioner also said that private industry and businesses will need certainty so that they can get involved in nature credits without financial risk.

Green Week

Speaking to journalists at EU Green Week - the commission's flagship annual environmental event - this month, Commissioner Roswall said nature credits were an important tool to bridge the "investment gap" in funding for nature.

The theme of this year's Green Week was 'Investing in a Nature Positive Economy', and the European Commission has proposed to allocate 35% of its long-term budget - the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) - to climate and environmental targets for 2028 to 2034.

However, the commissioner said EU and member state funds will need to be topped up with investment from the private sector, which is where nature credits come in.

Commissioner Roswall said: "The national governments also need to invest, and industry needs also to be part of it. But with all that said, public money will not be enough to fill this gap.

The commissioner also said: "I think it is important that we also get the framework right on how to know what to invest in, so we don't do greenwashing, if I put it really bluntly."

"This is also what I hear from industry. They want to know what they are investing in. They want to also be sure that they are not greenwashing."

Commissioner Roswall said the commission is engaging with expert groups on how to create a framework for nature credits that will achieve this.

"This work is ongoing. I'm a politician. I want a very fast result. But I'm not naive. I also think that it has to be solid and trustworthy so we know what we are doing with it," she added.