The main role of the Expert Group is to assist the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) of the Commission in various capacities, including:

• Policy Initiatives: preparing policy initiatives related to certification and nature credits.
• Cooperation: fostering collaboration between the Commission, Member States, and stakeholders on nature credits, including their international dimension.
• Information Gathering: collecting data and scientific evidence on methodologies to assess the health of ecosystems, including indicators and monitoring technologies.
• Knowledge Exchange: facilitating the exchange of experiences and good practices from existing public and private initiatives on nature credits, particularly with respect to certification methodologies, verification of results, quantification and conversion, considering aspects such as additionality, permanence, environmental integrity, and transparency.
• Market Infrastructure: assisting in identifying the design of appropriate market and governance infrastructure, covering aspects such as market scaling, selection of market actors, establishment of a registry, development of market operation rules, and risk mitigation instruments.
• Synergies: identifying and evaluating potential synergies with other EU policies and legislation, such as carbon removal and carbon farming frameworks, and organic farming schemes.
• Legal Preparation: assisting in the preparation of relevant delegated and implementing acts.

Composition of the Group
The Expert Group will be composed of a maximum of 100 members, from various categories:

• Type A Members (up to 13): individual experts with specialized knowledge in certification and nature credits, appointed in a personal capacity.
• Type B Members (up to 10): individual experts representing a common interest shared by stakeholders in biodiversity indicators and metrics, or in certification, monitoring, reporting, and verification methodologies.
• Type C Members (up to 40): organizations, including companies, business associations, financial institutions and insurance companies, non-governmental organizations, and research organizations.
• Type D Members: one representative per Member State from their competent authorities.
• Type E Members (up to 10): other public entities, including the national authorities of Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, and international organizations.

Applications for Type A, B, and C members are accepted through an open, continuously running call. Type A members appointed in a personal capacity are expected to act independently and in the public interest. Type B representatives of common interests must reflect a shared policy position across multiple stakeholder organizations, not that of a single stakeholder.

The Commission emphasizes that Member State authorities, other public entities, and stakeholder organizations are responsible for appointing representatives with a high level of expertise. DG ENV reserves the right to reject a nomination if it deems that the specified requirements are not met.