For too long, the colossal challenge of restoring our natural environment has been shouldered predominantly by public funding. Yet, the scale of this undertaking demands far more than government budgets alone can provide. The UK has ambitious targets for securing private investment in nature, with a goal of £1 billion per year by 2030. But achieving this target remains elusive. While there's no shortage of private capital available, a crucial piece of the puzzle has been missing: a robust and credible governance framework for nature markets.

Our extensive engagement with 169 specialists from 147 businesses, government bodies, and third-sector organisations through the NMD has delivered an unequivocal message: business has lost confidence in environmental credit markets. The well-documented integrity issues in voluntary carbon markets have created a deep-seated distrust, acting as a fundamental barrier to widespread business participation and market development. As NMD Chair Peter Young put it, "private sector stakeholders in the NMD have made it clear their patience is wearing thin. They will not participate in nature credit markets that lack proper regulation and governance". Businesses and finance will simply "stay on the sidelines unless confidence in market integrity is restored".

The core of the problem lies in the nature of biodiversity and ecosystem services themselves – they are "credence goods". This means their quality and quantity are difficult for buyers and sellers to verify, creating significant risks of exploitation, fraud, and critically, greenwashing. Without a robust governance framework, market participation continues to be perceived as having significant risks.

This is why our report, “Towards a Governance Framework for UK Nature Markets,” is so critical. It represents, perhaps, "the last chance to establish effective nature markets governance". Our proposal crystallises twelve months of wide-ranging engagement into a practical pathway for building a robust governance framework for UK nature markets, one that ensures high integrity, transparency, and, crucially, investor confidence.

Our proposed framework is designed to provide the certainty investors need to unlock the substantial private capital required for nature recovery. It calls for:

• Legal underpinning: Providing a strong foundation for the market.
• Clear rules and standards: Establishing transparent processes for developing and approving methodologies for calculating environmental benefits.
• Enforceable market rules: Ensuring compliance and the delivery of real and additional environmental improvements.
• Independent oversight: Building on existing institutional architecture to provide the necessary assurance.

With public funding for nature facing increased pressure following the Spending Review, mobilising private investment is no longer an option, it's a necessity. Our report provides the blueprint for how to achieve this. It is a regulatory failure, not a market failure, that impedes private funding for nature. Government must now play its part by urgently establishing a legally binding, high-integrity framework that covers both credit and inset markets.

The time for decisive action is now. By embracing the proposals outlined in our report, the government can unlock the only credible route to reversing nature's decline and achieving our ambitious environmental goals. The private sector is ready to invest, but only if we collectively build a market worthy of their trust.