Finance turns to regulation as biodiversity markets mature in early 2026
- Editorial Team SDG15
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
The intersection of finance and SDG 15 is shifting in early 2026 from voluntary initiatives to a more regulated, higher-stakes market, as standard setters, policymakers and governments push nature into core financial decision-making. Three pillars are driving that change, corporate transparency through new reporting requirements, the rise of biodiversity-linked credits, and national efforts to redirect public finance towards nature.
Corporate transparency and the ISSB’s nature-related push
The International Sustainability Standards Board is finalising its first comprehensive requirements for nature-related disclosures, designed to align with its existing IFRS S1 and S2 standards. The work is expected to draw heavily on the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, including its TNFD “LEAP” approach, which asks companies to locate, evaluate, assess and prepare for where their operations interact with sensitive ecosystems.
Two milestones are in view. TNFD is expected to complete technical work in Q3 2026 to fully support the ISSB, and an exposure draft of the new requirements is expected in October 2026 at the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17).
The changes would formalise practices that parts of the market have already begun adopting. More than 730 organisations, representing $9.4tn in market capitalisation, have voluntarily taken up these approaches, positioning themselves for a transition towards mandatory compliance in several jurisdictions by late 2026.
Nature credits and a new asset class
Alongside reporting reform, nature credits, also described as biodiversity credits, are being positioned as a distinct financial instrument. Unlike carbon credits, which focus on emissions, nature credits represent a verified uplift or protection of a specific ecosystem over a 10 to 30-year period.
They are framed as quantified units, such as per hectare, tied to measurable biodiversity improvements, including reforestation, rewilding and grassland restoration. Companies may use them to support supply chain resilience by addressing biodiversity loss in the regions where they source raw materials, while infrastructure projects may use them to compensate for unavoidable impacts during environmental permitting.
The European Union is testing a “Roadmap towards nature credits” through pilot projects, with the aim of a fully operational market by 2027, signalling a shift from experimentation to market design.
BIOFIN and the move to green national budgets
A third pillar is the expansion of BIOFIN, the UNDP’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative, which by February 2026 is described as having shown that national budgets can be “greened”. The initiative has helped 41 countries unlock more than $2.7bn in nature finance, up from $1.7bn two years earlier.
It has also backed country-level financial mechanisms. In Zambia, it supported the use of blended-finance green bonds for sustainable infrastructure, while Ecuador integrated “green” criteria into stimulus loans for small and medium enterprises.
BIOFIN is also scaling its planning footprint. Ninety-one countries are described as being on track to complete National Biodiversity Finance Plans, intended to act as practical blueprints for closing the global funding gap.
What happens next for policy, business and communities
Taken together, the three strands point to a tougher operating environment for companies and investors, as nature-linked risks, dependencies and mitigation measures are increasingly expected to be evidenced, priced and governed. The practical effect is likely to be greater scrutiny of where supply chains meet ecosystems, higher demand for verified outcomes in restoration projects, and stronger pressure on public finance systems to steer spending and credit towards nature-positive outcomes aligned with the sustainable development goals.
