Sammendrag
The Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was widely hailed as a milestone in international efforts to address catastrophic biodiversity decline. However, previous international targets for biodiversity protection have been left largely unmet, raising questions about how to ensure effective implementation of this latest framework. One of the possible implementation tools provided in the GBF is biodiversity offsetting. This involves biodiversity protection or restoration activities that are specifically designed to compensate for (intentional) destruction or degradation of biodiversity elsewhere caused by development. This paper explores the question of whether the use of biodiversity offsets is consistent with the aims of the Global Biodiversity Framework (particularly Target 3, which calls for 30 percent of land and sea areas to be effectively protected by 2030), and, to the extent that it may be inconsistent, what safeguards or alternative approaches could be applied.