Australian insights
Public consultation on draft Nature Repair Market Rules amendments (Opens in a new tab/window)
The Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is consulting(Opens in a new tab/window) on an exposure draft of the instrument Nature Repair Amendment (Environmental Offsets and Market Integrity Measures) Rules 2026. The amendments will update the Nature Repair Rules 2024 to enable the Market to supply environmental offsets and to improve its integrity and administration. Submissions on the exposure draft are due by 10:00pm (AEST) on Wednesday 29 July 2026.
Australia's National EPA launches(Opens in a new tab/window)
The National Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began operations(Opens in a new tab/window) on 1 July 2026 as part of Tranche 2 reforms to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The National EPA is Australia’s first independent federal environmental regulator. It is responsible for EPBC Act compliance, enforcement, audits, permit assessments and, where delegated by the Minister, project approval decisions.
The Head of Environment Information Australia (EIA) was also established as a statutory position from 1 July 2026 by the Environment Information Australia Act 2025. Under the EIA Act, the Head of EIA provides regular, independent, high-quality environmental information and reporting to support clear, accountable decision-making.
CEFC invests in Tasmanian plantation forestry and natural capital platform(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Aviva Investors and Gresham House have launched(Opens in a new tab/window) a $142 million natural capital investment that combines commercial plantation forestry with biodiversity restoration and sustainable land management. The cornerstone asset for the new Tasmania Natural Asset Trust platform is a 21,745-hectare property in Rushy Lagoon, northern Tasmania, where low-productivity farmland will be converted into Radiata Pine plantations, conservation areas and sustainable grazing operations. Timber is expected to be processed locally, supporting domestic timber supply and reducing pressure on native forests. The project is also expected to generate Australian Carbon Credit Units, creating an additional revenue stream linked to carbon markets.
The project highlights the growing role of natural capital as an investable asset class, combining commercial returns with carbon, biodiversity and regional development outcomes. A key feature is the integration of conservation and restoration activities within a productive landscape, including protection of part of the internationally recognised Lower Ringarooma Ramsar wetland. Ecological restoration, protective buffers and hydrological safeguards to maintain the site's environmental values and support threatened species habitat are part of the project’s design. The model reflects increasing investor interest in projects that can demonstrate measurable environmental outcomes alongside long-term economic value.
Building for the future – the Climate Systems Hub(Opens in a new tab/window)
The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Climate Systems Hub Building for the Future(Opens in a new tab/window) project is developing new climate datasets that enable building simulation tools to assess how assets are likely to perform under future climate conditions, including more frequent and severe heatwaves. The work aims to improve the resilience of buildings with long operational lifespans by incorporating future climate risks into decisions about design, thermal comfort, energy efficiency and peak electricity demand. The project is also intended to inform future updates to key policy and regulatory frameworks, including the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme, National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme, and the National Construction Code.
NESP is hosting a panel discussion(Opens in a new tab/window) on 29 July 2026, bringing together the researchers and practitioners who have been directly involved in co-designing, co-developing and testing these prototype files. The discussion will focus on the motivation behind the project, challenges in co-design, and learnings from the process, for both the scientists and the practitioners. It's an opportunity to hear how climate science is being translated into practical tools for building designers, building simulation modellers, assessors and policymakers.
Henderson blue mussel rock wall (Opens in a new tab/window)
Fremantle Ports has partnered with Byssal and DevelopmentWA to trial a nature‑based pilot project(Opens in a new tab/window) to enhance marine biodiversity and water quality at Cockburn Sound, with a blue mussel rock wall at Henderson (a video(Opens in a new tab/window) summary is also available). The trial involves seeding approximately 20 tonnes (770,000 shells) of locally sourced blue mussels onto a rock wall at the Australian Marine Complex Common User Facility in Henderson.
Mussels can improve water clarity by removing suspended particles, excess nutrients and phytoplankton and their beds create complex habitats that support fish, crustaceans and other marine organisms and help reduce erosion by stabilising seabeds. This project demonstrates how nature‑based solutions can be integrated into existing infrastructure, and how collaboration between asset owners and other stakeholders can build resilience into the environmental capital that provides the foundational input for extensive economic activity across regions.
Public consultation on Nature Repair Committee Enhancing Native Vegetation method(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Nature Repair Committee, an independent advisory body supporting the integrity of the Nature Repair Market, is consulting(Opens in a new tab/window) on the draft Enhancing Native Vegetation (ENV) method. This method would support projects in Australia's productive and historically cleared areas.
Under the ENV method, projects could:
- enhance the condition of remnant vegetation
- maintain the condition of moderate to high condition remnant vegetation
- revegetate areas without remnant vegetation through environmental planting and/or facilitated regeneration.
The Nature Repair Committee and the Department for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water ran a public webinar(Opens in a new tab/window), on 8 July 2026, to provide information on the proposed Enhancing Native Vegetation method.
Feedback will inform the committee’s advice to the Minister for the Environment and Water, including whether the method meets the biodiversity integrity standards. Submissions are due by 10:00pm (AEST) on Wednesday, 29 July 2026.
International insights
Insights into the ISSB’s nature-related disclosure proposals(Opens in a new tab/window)
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation has released(Opens in a new tab/window) a summary of International Sustainable Standards Board (ISSB) Vice-Chair, Sue Lloyd’s address on nature-related disclosure proposals at the IFRS Foundation Conference in London. Sue noted that the rationale for pursuing a Practice Statement for nature was to address fragmentation in the nature disclosure landscape without overloading organisations and jurisdictions currently implementing IFRS S1 (broader sustainability disclosure Standard) and S2 (climate disclosure Standard). However, Sue also noted that the ISSB is leaving the door open for a nature Standard in the future. The summary also included an infographic(Opens in a new tab/window) describing the content included in the nature-related disclosure proposals.
Second Global Nature Positive Summit commences(Opens in a new tab/window)
The second international summit for nature positive is being held from 14-16 July 2026(Opens in a new tab/window) in Kumamoto, Japan. The Nature Positive Summit will aim to showcase strategies and roadmaps to deliver nature-positive outcomes, with a particular focus on the private sector. Ahead of other international meetings in 2026, such as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 in Armenia, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s COP17 in Mongolia in August, the Global Nature Positive Summit will help focus attention on how to chart a course to a nature-positive future in business, finance and governance.
Just Adaptation: an introduction for institutional investors(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) has published(Opens in a new tab/window) a paper to help investors understand and respond to the social dimensions of climate adaptation. ‘Just adaptation’ refers to reducing physical risks without shifting those risks onto other people, communities, or future generations, and considering the impacts of both action and inaction. As climate impacts intensify, adaptation is accelerating. The rush for adaptation solutions can undermine social license, delay projects, and increase systemic risk, which are all financially material for investors. Poorly designed or contested adaptation can slow implementation, increase physical risks to assets, and contribute to broader economic instability.
This report highlights sectors where just adaptation is particularly critical, including infrastructure, energy, transport, housing, and essential services that underpin community wellbeing. The report provides a foundation for investors to support fair, effective adaptation, and protect long-term returns.
Gaining Ground: state of private investment in nature, 2026(Opens in a new tab/window)
Forest Trends and The Nature Conservancy have released(Opens in a new tab/window) a report analysing the state of private investment in nature as of 2026. The report finds that investors deployed more than US$60 billion in nature-focused activities between 2016 and 2025, with annual investment increasing fivefold to over US$14 billion in 2025. Investment remains concentrated in sustainable agriculture and forestry in North and Latin America, while Africa, Oceania and Asia continue to attract comparatively lower levels of capital.
The report findings point to a market that is becoming increasingly sophisticated, but one that is still shaped by institutional familiarity and established asset classes. While financial structures have matured, investors continue to face significant barriers to deploying capital, particularly regulatory uncertainty around carbon markets, biodiversity markets, and nature-related disclosure standards.
British insurance supply chain invests in long-term nature restoration(Opens in a new tab/window)
QBE and seven firms from its claims supply chain have formed a consortium(Opens in a new tab/window) to co-invest in nature restoration and carbon credit generation at Boothby Wildland in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom. Named the ‘QBE Buyers Club’, the group is made up of service providers connected to QBE including law firms, risk administrators and a national salvage dealer.
The UK Prudential Regulation Authority's updated supervisory statement requires insurers to integrate climate risk across asset and liability management, underwriting, reserving and the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment process. The consortium has made a 50-year commitment to purchase carbon credits and fund rewilding on the site, a former farm which was the first project to reach the implementation phase of the government's Landscape Recovery scheme, run by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The project will generate carbon credits and includes rewilding elements such as the reintroduction of beavers to the West Glen river as part of efforts to restore the waterway and surrounding wetland habitat. The long-term contract from the consortium benefits the project by securing funding for ongoing work and allows the consortium members to demonstrate credible climate action by supporting a specific, place-based project rather than purchasing aggregated credits on the market.