Please report anything that does not work as expected or looks weird directly to the development team.
In the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the EU and its Member States committed to implement more than 100 actions by 2030. This tool is designed to track that progress.
SUMMARY
COHERENT NETWORK OF PROTECTED AREAS
Target 1 - Legally protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and a minimum of 30% of the EU’s sea area, and integrate ecological corridors, as part of a true Trans-European Nature Network.
Target 2 - Strictly protect at least a third of the EU’s protected areas, including all remaining EU primary and old-growth forests.
Target 3 - Effectively manage all protected areas, defining clear conservation objectives and measures, and monitoring them appropriately.
Updated on: 2026-03-23
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to place 30% of EU land area and 30% of EU sea area under protection by 2030, and to place a third of these areas (10%) under strict protection. To support the efforts of Member States, the Commission has published criteria and guidance for identifying and designating additional protected areas, and for their appropriate management planning. The guidance applies the EU targets to each biogeographical region and sea basin, and includes a definition of strict protection. It also indicates how other effective area-based conservation measures, in addition to Natura 2000 sites, could contribute to the targets. The guidance is the result from extensive consultations with Member States' authorities, experts and stakeholders.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Under the EU Nature Directives, EU Member States must designate Natura 2000 sites to protect certain species and habitats of EU importance. The obligation to complete the Natura 2000 network will also contribute to the protection targets set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (see Action 1). The establishment of the terrestrial Natura 2000 network is almost complete. There are still significant gaps for marine areas. The Commission promotes compliance, including through bilateral Nature Dialogues with Member States, and takes enforcement action as necessary.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-12-11
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission and the European Environment Agency (EEA) have provided a tool for Member States to report their pledges for the designation of protected areas towards the nature protection targets set in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (see also action 5). In 2023 and 2024, the content of the national pledges was discussed with authorities and stakeholders in the frame of biogeographical region-level seminars. The aim is that the EU nature protection targets are met by 2030, both on land and at sea. In this process, attention is also given to ensuring the effective management of all protected areas.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-08
Deadline: 2023
Summary: In consultation with the Commission, the EEA will assess and if necessary, work with the countries through its EIONET network to adapt the reporting format of the database of nationally designated protected areas, for the purposes of reporting new information and assessing progress towards the nature protection targets set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-16
Deadline: 2023
Summary: The Commission has provided criteria and guidance for the designation of protected areas and the integration of ecological corridors, to deliver on the EU Biodiversity Strategy's targets to protect 30% of land and 30% of sea areas in the EU, and to strictly protect a third of these areas (see Action 1). A dedicated reporting tool has been put in place by the European Environment Agency (EEA) for the submission of Member States' pledges on the designation of additional protected areas. To date, only eight Member States have submitted pledges for the protection and/or strict protection targets: BE, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FR, LU and SE. Progress towards the pledges is being discussed at a series of terrestrial and marine biogeographical seminars (see Action 3).
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-16
Deadline: 2024
Summary: By 2023, the EU Member States have to demonstrate significant progress in designating new protected areas. To date, eight Member States have submitted pledges for the protection and/or strict protection targets (see Action 5). This limited number does not allow for an assessment of the collective ambition. The process and content of pledges are being discussed with authorities and stakeholders in a series of EU biogeographical region-level seminars. The Commission also continues to promote the completion of the Natura 2000 network through structured bilateral Nature Dialogues, and it has taken enforcement action as necessary.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-08
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2023
Summary: Strictly protecting all primary and old-growth forests in the EU requires preparatory work on definitions and concepts for such forests across the EU, followed by complete mapping of these areas, stock-taking of existing monitoring measures and future monitoring needs, and a review of evidence on protection regimes and the impact of various activities on these ecosystems. The Commission has worked with Member States and stakeholders to develop common definitions and prescribe mapping, monitoring and protection measures for primary and old-growth forests in the EU. This work, in the framework of the Working Group on Forests and Nature, was completed in March 2023 with the publication of the guidelines.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Strategically planned green infrastructure can increase ecological connectivity, ecosystem health and resilience, harness the multiple benefits of healthy ecosystems and contribute to the overall coherence of the EU Natura 2000 Network. The EU has provided opportunities to support investments in green and blue infrastructure and nature-based solutions via several funding instruments under the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027. The Commission has further invited Member States to plan, in their Prioritised Action Frameworks, investments in green infrastructure to underpin the functioning of the Natura 2000 network. The Commission published, in 2023, an EU assessment of investment needs and priorities for Natura 2000 and green infrastructure. The European Investment Bank report” Investing in nature-based solutions: State-of-play and way forward for public and private financial measures in Europe” explores financial barriers and opportunities to scale up green actions that protect or restore natural ecosystems, while helping to mitigate floods, coastal erosion, overheating cities and other challenges. The revised EU Pollinators Initiative has proposed the establishment of ecological corridors – “buzz lines” – to enable the movement of pollinator species in search of food, shelter, nesting and breeding sites and to provide migration routes for species impacted by climate change. In June 2025, the European Commission published a Water Resilience Strategy that aims to work towards water resilience, including by restoring and protecting the water cycle from source to sea, and encourages green infrastructure development. Furthermore, in May 2025, the EU Knowledge Centre on Earth Observation published a Deep Dive assessment on Climate adaptation in urban areas, which analysed how Earth Observation products and services can support cities and regions in adapting to climate change impacts, with a focus on tackling the urban heat island effect and flooding vulnerabilities, as well as green infrastructure.
Links:
- EU Green Infrastructure Strategy
- EU Water Resilience Strategy (June 2025)
- Financing Natura 2000 - EU Funding Opportunities in 2021-2027
- EU Guidance on strategic EU level green and blue infrastructure
- Conceptual development and implementation of Key Pollinator Areas (KPAs) and Buzz Lines in Europe (2025)
- Investing in nature-based solutions: State-of-play and way forward for public and private financial measures in Europe (EEA, June 2023)
- Deep Dive on Climate Adaptation in Urban areas (KCEO, May 2025)
Updated on: 2025-12-11
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU Biodiversity Strategy aims to protect and restore the exceptional biodiversity of the EU's Outermost regions (OR). The Commission has strengthened the biodiversity dimension in the Strategy for the EU’s Outermost regions adopted in May 2022. It has also encouraged Member States to include OR in the EU Natura 2000 network, and provided guidance on support opportunities for protected areas and green infrastructure in the OR under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). Similarly, the Commission encourages Member States to seize biodiversity support opportunities under InvestEU, Horizon Europe and the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action (LIFE). The BESTLIFE2030 project (2023 - 2031), with a total EU contribution of EUR 32 million, has established a grant facility to build stakeholder capacities in the OR and OCT, and supports dozens of biodiversity conservation, restoration and sustainable use projects.
Links:
EU NATURE RESTORATION PLAN
Strengthening the EU legal framework for nature restoration
Target 4 - Legally binding EU nature restoration targets to be proposed in 2021, subject to an impact assessment. By 2030, significant areas of degraded and carbon-rich ecosystems are restored. Habitats and species show no deterioration in conservation trends and status; and at least 30% reach favourable conservation status or at least show a positive trend.
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2022
Summary: In June 2024, the EU adopted a Nature Restoration Regulation to restore degraded ecosystems, habitats and species across the EU’s land and sea areas in order to: (i) enable the long-term and sustained recovery of biodiverse and resilient nature, (ii) contribute to achieving the EU’s climate mitigation and climate adaptation objectives and (iii) meet international commitments. The Regulation combines an overarching restoration objective for the long-term recovery of nature in the EU’s land and sea areas with binding restoration targets for specific habitats and species. Restoration measures should cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030, and ultimately all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. The Regulation further sets specific targets for habitats and species protected under existing legislation, pollinators, forest, urban, agricultural and marine ecosystems, and river connectivity. By 1 September 2026 EU Member States are expected to submit to the Commission draft National Restoration Plans including the areas to be restored to reach these restoration targets, indicative maps of potential areas to be restored, and a description of restoration measures put in place or planned. To support this work, the Commission has published a uniform format for National Restoration Plans, guidance on a developing methodologies to monitor high-diversity landscape features and a compilation of existing guidance on ecosystem restoration. A Delegated act establishing a science-based method for monitoring pollinator diversity and populations was adopted in September 2025.
Links:
- Nature Restoration Regulation on Europa
- Uniform format for National Restoration Plans
- Nature Restoration Regulation Reference Portal
- Compilation of existing guidance on ecosystem restoration
- Guidance on developing methodologies to monitor high-diversity landscape features
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of the Council on nature restoration
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/218 establishing a science-based method for monitoring pollinator diversity and pollinator populations
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets a target for Member States to ensure that at least 30% of their species and habitats protected under the Birds and Habitats Directives currently not in favourable status will be in that category by 2030, or at least show a strong positive trend. In addition, the target also provides that, by 2030, no more species or habitats should show a decline. In order to support the Member States in the selection and prioritisation of species and habitats for improvements to be achieved under that target, the Commission has developed a technical guidance note with the European Environment Agency (EEA), Member States and stakeholders in the frame of the Nature Directive Expert Group (NADEG). The technical guidance note was finalised in June 2021.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU Member States will be in charge of restoring protected species and habitats, in line with the Nature Restoration Regulation's restoration targets, the Guidance on the selection and prioritisation of species and habitats for restoration (Action 11) and related Biodiversity Strategy restoration commitments. Progress to this target will be measured through the six-yearly reporting on status and trends of species and habitats, which all Member states need to submit under Article 17 of the Habitats Directive and Article 12 of the Birds Directive. Based on the national reports that were due in 2025, the EEA will provide a first indication of the progress achieved under these targets in the next State of Nature Report, due in late 2026.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The Commission published a science-for-policy report on the EU methodology to map and assess ecosystem condition in September 2022. It provides methodological guidance at EU level on the mapping and monitoring of ecosystem condition and services, in support of the implementation, monitoring and reporting on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Following the first EU assessment of ecosystems and their services (2020), a second EU assessment (MAES2IPBES) is underway. It builds on the EU-wide methodology to map and assess ecosystem condition (2022), while adhering to the UN System of Environmental Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA). It will contribute to the Second IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, planned for 2028, and will support the assessment of EU progress to the EU and global biodiversity targets for 2030.
Links:
Bringing nature back to agricultural land
Target 5 - The decline of pollinators is reversed.
Updated on: 2026-05-29
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU Pollinators Initiative, revised in January 2023, aims to (i) improve knowledge of pollinator decline, its causes and consequences; (ii) improve pollinator conservation and tackle the causes of pollinator decline and (iii) mobilise society and promote strategic planning and cooperation at all levels. Work is ongoing to implement the short-term actions and longer-term objectives (2030) of the EU Pollinators Initiative. Progress and deliverables include an update of the European Red List for bees and the publication of the European Red List for hoverflies, complementing the existing European Red List for butterflies. A European Red List for moths is being finalised. The Commission also published a European Red List of insect taxonomists highlighting existing coverage and gaps in expertise on insect species across the EU. Progress has been made in extending butterfly monitoring to a greater number of EU Member States, extending the EU Grassland Butterfly Index through the EMBRACE project, and in developing and field-testing an EU-wide pollinator monitoring scheme, which is to be based on a harmonised and scientifically robust methodology. Drivers for pollinator decline are being studied, amongst others with the Insignia project, which monitored pesticide presence in samples collected by honeybees, and the EMBAL project, which monitored the ecological quality of agricultural habitats. In June 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) completed the review of the Guidance Document on the Risk Assessment of Plant Protection Products on Bees. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation includes a binding target for Member States to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030. Member States are also required to set up robust monitoring schemes to collect data on the abundance and diversity of pollinator species and for assessing pollinator population trends, based on a harmonized methodology set out in a Commission Delegated Regulation. The Commission supports capacity building for taxonomic knowledge in key pollinator groups with the European Pollinator Identification Courses - EPIC - and the ORBIT and Taxofly projects.
Links:
- EU pollinator action plans
- Pollinators site on Europa
- EU Pollinators Information Hive
- Pollinator Park virtual reality game
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2188
- EU Grassland Butterfly Index
- EMBRACE project
- Insignia project
- EMBAL project
- European Pollinator Identification Courses (EPIC)
- ORBIT project
- Taxofly project
Updated on: 2021-12-08
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Commission published its Report on the implementation of the EU Pollinators initiative in May 2021. The report takes stock of the implementation of short-term (2020) actions and of progress to the long-term (2030) objectives of the initiative.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-12-13
Deadline: 2022
Summary: On 25 January 2023, the Commission published a revised EU Pollinators Initiative. It includes a reinforced Action Framework with 42 Actions, to be implemented by 2030 or earlier. The revised pollinator initiative aims to (i) improve knowledge of pollinator decline, its causes and consequences; (ii) improve pollinator conservation and tackle the causes of pollinator decline and (iii) mobilise society and promote strategic planning and cooperation at all levels.
Links:
Target 6 - The risk and use of chemical pesticides is reduced by 50%, and the use of more hazardous pesticides is reduced by 50%.
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU farm-to-fork and biodiversity strategies (2020) aim to achieve a 50% reduction in the use and risk of chemical pesticides, and a 50% reduction in the use of more hazardous pesticides. These targets are mirrored in the Zero Pollution Action Plan (2021), as part of the overall ambition to create a toxic-free environment by 2050. They also contribute to achieving Target 7 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022). The revised EU Pollinators Initiative (2023) aims, amongst other objectives, to mitigate the impacts of pesticide use on pollinators. The Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (2025) aims to achieve healthy soils by 2050, including by reducing soil contamination to levels no longer considered harmful to human health and the environment. Progress to achieving these targets can be supported by a range of measures. The Commission encourages improved use of integrated pest management (including under the CAP) and increased efficiency of pesticide use, as well as improved data collection. To increase the availability of alternatives to chemical pesticides, the Commission has adopted proposals for implementing regulations under the Plant Protection Products Regulation revising data requirements, approval criteria and assessment methodologies for the authorisation of biological pesticides containing micro-organisms to accelerate their access to the market. Pesticide risk assessment is currently in the process of being strengthened by implementing more stringent risk assessment procedures for bees and other organisms. The Commission has further supported a range of projects aimed at pesticide reductions and integrated pest management (e.g., IPM toolbox, SMARTPROTECT, IPM Works, AdvisoryNetPest, EU-FarmBook, Agrowise) under Horizon Europe, the LIFE Programme and other instruments, including the EU CAP Network and EIP-AGRI operational groups. As part of the simplification omnibus on food and feed (2025), a proposed Regulation on the simplification and strengthening of food and feed safety requirements would, amongst others, facilitate biocontrol in farming. The 2nd Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook (2025) provides an overview of progress to the EU’s pesticide reduction targets. Based on updated figures, in 2023, the quantity of pesticides sold in the EU dropped by 9% compared to 2022, and by 18% compared to 2021. Existing EU indicators show an overall decrease at EU level of 58% in the use and risk of chemical pesticides, and a decrease of 27% in the use of more hazardous pesticides between the reference baseline period 2015-2017 and the period 2018-2023. However, these indicators do not adequately assess risks for biodiversity. A new headline indicator on Aggregated Total Applied Toxicity (ATAT) under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity framework, pending finalisation of its global methodology, will fill this gap. Exceedances of pesticides thresholds are still found in 12% in groundwater and 23 % of river water bodies (2023 data, EEA). The Mid-term review of the Zero Pollution Action Plan outlines the need for further implementation efforts, investments and integration as well as innovation, digitalisation and skills.
Links:
- Zero Pollution Action Plan
- Action Plan on Chemicals (2025)
- Pesticide reduction targets - progress
- Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive
- Mid-term review of the Zero Pollution Action Plan (2026)
- Second Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook Report (2025)
- EU trends in the use of more hazardous pesticides indicator
- Legislation on placing plant protection products on the market
- Pesticides in rivers, lakes and groundwater in Europe (EEA, 2023 data
Updated on: 2025-08-01
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The Commission has carried out an evaluation of the Directive on the sustainable use of pesticides. On 22 June 2022, the Commission proposed a new Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products, accompanied by an Impact Assessment. On 22 November 2023, the European Parliament rejected the Commission proposal as amended in plenary, thereby closing its first reading.
Links:
Target 7 - At least 10% of agricultural area is under high-diversity landscape features.
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the main contributor towards the target on high-biodiversity landscape features. Standards for good agricultural and environmental condition (GAEC) under the CAP for the period 2023-2027 require the retention of landscape features. CAP Pillar 1 eco-schemes and Pillar 2 rural development interventions also include support measures for the creation and maintenance of landscape features. These conditionality requirements and interventions to support voluntary measures are set out in Member States’ CAP Strategic Plans that have been running since January 2023. Under the Nature Restoration Law (2024), Member States are required to put in place measures to achieve an increasing trend in at least two out of these three indicators for agricultural ecosystems: (i) grassland butterfly index, (ii) stock of organic carbon in cropland mineral soils and (iii) share of agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features (see also action 10). Under the Regulation, EU Member States are to develop national restoration plans and submit them to the Commission within two years of the Regulation coming into force, i.e. by September 2026. Member States must also monitor and report on their progress in implementing the regulation, based on EU-wide biodiversity indicators. To support these efforts, the Commission published, in 2025, EU guidance on developing methodologies to monitor high-diversity landscape features. In 2022, the share of agricultural area under landscape features at EU scale was estimated at 5.6%, with different Member States’ shares ranging from 3.4% to nearly 9%. While data on the share of high-diversity landscape features is not yet available, just under 21,000 farms (0.21% of the total) have received support for non-productive investments for the restoration of landscape features (such as, for example, hedges, trees and small woodlands, ponds, wetlands and dry-stone walls). The EU Roadmap towards Nature Credits outlines a step-by-step approach to support the development of high-integrity nature credit schemes that aim to encourage nature-positive action – such as restoring wetlands, maintaining high-diversity landscapes or enhancing soil and pollinator health – and channel funding towards actors on the ground, such as farmers, foresters, fishers, land managers, landowners and local communities.
Links:
- Commission Recommendations on the CAP Strategic Plans
- Commission Observation Letters on the CAP Strategic Plans
- Guidance on a framework for developing methodologies to monitor high-diversity landscape features
- EU Roadmap towards nature credits
- Implementation of the CAP Strategic Plans in 2023-2024 - Commission report (2024)
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission is constantly reviewing progress on the target of 10% high-diversity landscape features on agricultural land and, if necessary, it may take measures to mitigate against undue impact on biodiversity, food security and farmers' competitiveness. In 2023, in the context of the war of aggression in Ukraine, the Commission authorised Member States to derogate from the first requirement of GAEC 8 (retention of landscape features) and from GAEC 7 (crop rotation), allowing farmers to produce food crops on areas which would otherwise be fallow under GAEC 8. The purpose was to avoid reducing the Union production capacity at a moment of high uncertainties with regard to global food security. Most Member States made use of this derogation. The CAP simplification package retains certain compulsory common elements under GAEC 8 (such as the obligation to preserve existing landscape features) and replaces the obligation to maintain non-productive areas and features with a support mechanism for farmers, giving them the opportunity to be compensated for leaving land unproductive.
Target 8 - At least 25% of agricultural land is under organic farming management, and the uptake of agro-ecological practices is significantly increased.
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The EU Biodiversity Strategy and the EU Farm-to-Fork Strategy set the target to manage 25% of agricultural land under organic farming by 2030. The Action Plan on Organic Farming (2021) aims to promote the adoption of organic farming practices, support the development of organic products and encourage increased demand for organic products. The Commission Report on the CAP Strategic Plans (2023) notes that ambitions announced by Member States in relation to the organic farming target range between 5% and 30% of farmland, and that overall, CSP provide a substantial contribution towards the 25% target. The report highlights measures implemented to raise awareness and improve the control system of the EU organic logo, to expand the market 115 for organic products, improve data collection, research and innovation, support farmers and strengthen their role in the value chain. In 2025, the CAP was amended to include further flexibility for Member States. Key changes included exemptions for small farmers from certain environmental rules and simplified environmental checks. Certified organic farms would be automatically considered as meeting the EU's environmental requirements (GAEC) for funding. The share of agricultural land under organic farming in the EU increased from 5.9% in 2012 to 10.5% in 2022 (an estimated increase of 7.4 million hectares). The uptake of organic practices varies at Member State level, from 0.6 % to 25.7 % of the total agricultural area.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-05
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The Commission has provided country-specific recommendations, and it has engaged in a structured dialogue with the Member States to encourage that their CAP strategic plans comply with the EU objectives and that they set explicit national values for the relevant targets of the Biodiversity Strategy and the Farm to Fork Strategy, to be supported by CAP instruments (as well as other relevant instruments).
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-13
Deadline: 2022
Summary: Rules to facilitate the registration of varieties suitable for organic production for priority species have been adopted. A derogation is provided to facilitate the registration of varieties suitable for organic production in order to meet the needs of the organic production sector, to foster research and to develop organic varieties suitable for organic production, taking into account the specific needs and objectives of organic agriculture such as enhanced genetic diversity, disease resistance or tolerance and adaptation to diverse local soil and climate conditions.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-07-20
Deadline: 2023
Summary: The Commission has adopted on 5 July 2023 a legislative proposal for the revision of the EU legislation for the marketing of plant reproductive material and a legislative proposal for the revision of the EU legislation for the marketing of forest reproductive material, accompanied by an impact assessment. The proposal on plant reproductive material introduces simpler rules for the marketing for conservation varieties, both traditional ones and locally newly bred under specific local conditions, with the objective to support the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. The proposal on plant reproductive material introduces measures to support the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2027
Summary: The Commission has been working with the Member States to promote agroforestry in their CAP strategic plans and most plans include afforestation and agroforestry management commitments (see also action 21).
Forest quantity, health and resilience
Updated on: 2026-02-19
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Commission adopted, in 2021, a new EU Forest Strategy for 2030 with the aim to protect forests and the value of the many ecosystem services they provide, contribute to a modern, climate-neutral, resource-efficient and competitive economy, and preserve lively rural areas. The strategy is accompanied by two staff working documents, on the Stakeholder Consultation and Evidence Base, and a Roadmap for planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030 in full respect of ecological principles. A MapMyTree viewer shows tree-planting initiatives that contribute to this target. A review of the implementation of the EU Forest Strategy for 2030 is envisaged in early 2026.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-19
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Forest Information System for Europe (FISE) was launched in 2020, with the aim to make it Europe’s knowledge tool to monitor the state, health and sustainability of Europe’s many forests. It will also be a key tool in monitoring the implementation of the European Green Deal objectives in relation to forests. The Commission outlined the further development of FISE as part of the new EU Forest Strategy and will work with the Member States to further develop FISE so that it can capture all elements of forest pressures, status and changes in quality and quantity. Since its launch, FISE has been updated to include new thematic sections on forest health, forest management or forest soils. Moreover, FISE has been providing regular updates of relevant research related to forests and summarizing the latest scientific research on specific topics such as forest disturbances, forest-based climate mitigation or others. Following the announced withdrawal of the proposed Regulation on a monitoring framework for resilient European forests, FISE will continue to play its role as a repository of the best available data on forests in the EU. To this end, further actions such as providing summarizing data dashboards (including based on Earth Observation data) and deeper cooperation with Member States will be needed. EU-level work on additional indicators and thresholds for sustainable forest management is in an early preparatory phase.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-03-26
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU Forest Strategy as well as the Communication on Integrated wildfire risk management, published in March 2026, seek to put due emphasis on increased wildfire prevention and climate resilience of forests and wider landscapes. The European Forest Fire Information System - EFFIS - provides near-real-time information on forest fires in Europe, and on wildfire risk. The Commission publishes annual forest fire reports for Europe, Middle East and North Africa. The Commission is working with the Member States to ensure that afforestation and reforestation measures support biodiversity and promote closer-to-nature forestry practices and integrate relevant wildfire prevention and recovery measures in the Member States’ CAP strategic plans.
Links:
Target 9 - Three billion additional trees are planted in the EU, in full respect of ecological principles.
Updated on: 2023-12-20
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2023
Summary: The guidelines on Biodiversity-Friendly Afforestation, Reforestation and Tree Planting provide a set of practical recommendations to support authorities, forest and landowners, and managers and civil society to better implement biodiversity-friendly afforestation, reforestation and tree-planting projects including at the local level. Specifically, they support the European Green Deal commitment to improve the forested area of the EU both in quantity and quality. Through both active planting and natural regeneration, these guidelines constitute one of the key milestones to implement the 3 billion additional trees pledge of the EU by 2030. They address afforestation initiatives in agricultural land; reforestation actions in forest land, including restoration actions; and tree planting in urban and peri-urban environments, as well as agricultural land (agroforestry). The guidelines were adopted on 20 March 2023. The guidelines on Closer-to-Nature Forest Management were published in July 2023. The guidelines set out principles and tools for closer to nature as a form of ecosystem-based forest management with a view to strengthen forest multifunctionality, biodiversity and resilience to climate change, while fostering long-term economic and other societal benefits.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-05
Deadline: 2021
Summary: As part of the new EU Forest Strategy, the Commission presented a Roadmap for planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, in full respect of ecological principles. In 2022, the Commission launched a Counter allowing different actors to register tree-planting measures that contribute towards the target of 3 billion trees (see link below).
Links:
Addressing land take and restoring soil ecosystems
Target 10 - Significant progress in the remediation of contaminated soil sites.
Updated on: 2025-08-04
Deadline: 2027
Summary: The Commission will work with the Member States to scale-up the adoption of sustainable soil management practices by land managers. This role of the farmer advisory services in accompanying the transition will be strengthened. The EU will also support research to fill current knowledge gaps on best practices, benefits and trade-offs for society and farmers. This action will be implemented as part of the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy and the new EU Soil Strategy.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Commission adopted in November 2021 a new EU Soil Thematic Strategy which aims to tackle in a comprehensive way soil and land degradation, as well as to fulfil EU and international commitments on land degradation neutrality. The Strategy provides a framework and sets several qualitative medium-term and long-term targets to protect and restore soils and ensure that they are used in a sustainable manner. It includes key measures for sustainable soil use, the avoidance of land sealing, a target to halve the drainage of peatlands, restoration of contaminated sites, and tighter monitoring and reporting obligations for EU countries. In early 2025 the EU Soil Strategy Actions Tracker was launched. This tool, for which a link is provided below, tracks the progress of policy actions listed in the Strategy. Following the commitment stemming from the strategy, the Commission adopted in July 2023 a Proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience (Soil Monitoring Law). The Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience adopted in 2025 includes land take mitigation principles in line with the land take hierarchy, which should be taken into consideration by Member States at the appropriate spatial level in case of new soil sealing and soil removal. Furthermore, the Directive provides a framework for the monitoring of soil sealing, soil removal and land take, and requires the Commission and the EEA to develop remote sensing solutions. The Directive sets out that the Commission is to draw up documents and develop scientific tools to help Member States carry out their obligations, including in relation to determining the values of soil sealing and soil removal, and identifying the resulting loss of ecosystem services. The Directive also requires the identification and investigation of potentially contaminated sites and the assessment and management of contaminated sites following a risk-based approach.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-05-06
Deadline: 2030
Summary: As set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Member States will need to identify contaminated soil sites, restore degraded soils and improve soil monitoring. The Commission and the Member States are working to integrate objectives and measures to this end in relevant EU instruments, to define the conditions for good ecological status of soil, introduce restoration objectives and take action to improve the monitoring of soil quality. In recognition that funding is vital to enable a transition to healthy soils, the Commission also adopted a guidance on EU funding opportunities available for the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of soils. Furthermore, it also contributes to the Soil Strategy’s aim of increasing soil literacy, engagement and awareness among a wide range of stakeholders, including practitioners, public authorities, academia and others.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-12-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Commission committed to propose measures to limit, mitigate and compensate soil sealing and scale up related actions. Rehabilitation and recycling of brownfields reduces additional land take and sealing: registering (potentially) polluted sites is key as well as providing sufficient financial support for remediation. Whilst the Commission will no longer present a separate EU Strategy for a Sustainable Built Environment, measures originally foreseen for this strategy were frontloaded in the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the Commission's 2020 Strategy ‘Renovation Wave for Europe’ along with its action plan, and integrated in the new Soil Strategy (2021). Furthermore, the Transition Pathway for Construction (2023) presents a holistic approach on the green and digital transition of construction and the built environment. It also acts as a roadmap and an actionable plan.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-01
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The main goal of the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe' is to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030. The Mission leads the transition towards healthy soils by: • funding an ambitious research and innovation programme with a strong social science component; • putting in place an effective network of 100 living labs and lighthouses to co-create knowledge, test solutions and demonstrate their value in real-life conditions; • developing a harmonised framework for soil monitoring in Europe; • raising people’s awareness on the vital importance of soils. The 8 Mission objectives are: (1) reduce desertification, (2) conserve soil organic carbon stocks, (3) stop soil sealing and increase re-use of urban soils, (4) reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration, (5) prevent erosion, (6) improve soil structure to enhance soil biodiversity, (7) reduce the EU global footprint on soils, (8) improve soil literacy in society. The Mission will support the EU’s ambition to lead on global commitments, notably the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contribute to the European Green Deal targets on sustainable farming, climate resilience, biodiversity and zero-pollution. It is also a flagship initiative of the long-term vision for rural areas.
Links:
Win-win solutions for energy generation
Updated on: 2023-04-12
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2021
Summary: This action will be supported by the Implementing Act on REDII sustainability criteria for forest biomass (see 40) and the Revision of the 2018 renewable energy directive (see Action 38).
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The aim of this action is to apply win-win solutions that reduce emissions to the extent required by the EU's climate-neutrality goal for 2050, while promoting biodiversity preservation. The EU will prioritise solutions such as ocean energy or offshore wind which also allows for fish stock regeneration, solar-panel farms that provide biodiversity-friendly soil cover, and sustainable bioenergy. The main relevant instruments include the revision of the Renewable energy Directive (see Action 38), and the Implementing Act on Forest Biomass (see Action 40), the Offshore Renewable Energy Strategy and Guidance document on wind energy developments and EU nature legislation adopted in November 2020. The Renewable Energy Directive III revision (2023) requires Member States to map renewable potential and designate low-impact renewable acceleration areas, embedding biodiversity considerations directly into renewable energy spatial planning and permitting. A Commission Recommendations on innovative technologies and forms of renewable energy deployment (2025) supports this goal by promoting innovative forms of deployment, such as agrisolar and floating solar, that optimise the utilisation of space by combining multiple activities on the same piece of land or water, and by integrating offshore renewables into Maritime Spatial Plans that coordinate with biodiversity conservation.
Links:
- EU Strategy on offshore renewable energy
- Guidance document on wind energy developments and EU Nature legislation
- Commission Recommendations on innovative technologies and forms of renewable energy deployment (2025)
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2448 of 13 December 2022 on establishing operational guidance on the evidence for demonstrating compliance with the sustainability criteria for forest biomass
Updated on: 2024-07-24
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission regularly assesses the current and future sources and uses of biomass from all primary production sectors in the EU, and related sustainability with the aim to better understand and monitor the potential climate and biodiversity risks, and to support the design and implementation of policy measures. This is a long-term mandate that started in 2014. The Commission publishes a report every two years. For a full list of publications, see the dedicated page on the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy (link below).
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: In June 2021, the Commission delivered its Fit for 55 package, with legislative proposals aiming to align the EU's regulatory framework with the climate ambition set out in the European Green Deal. This paved the road for the adoption, in 2023, of the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED), revised EU Emission Trading System Directive (EU ETS) and revised EU Regulation for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector (LULUCF). The revised RED promotes renewable energy while also reinforcing bioenergy sustainability criteria (among other aspects). The revised EU ETS aims to align with the 2030 climate ambition and 2050 long-term goal, while taking account of the need for just transition. The revised LULUCF Regulation aims to enhance governance, promote transparency, and strengthen the link between climate mitigation and environmental protection measures to address the climate and biodiversity crises. The amendments include strengthened synergies with biodiversity monitoring and reporting which can help identify priority areas with the potential to contribute to climate action and biodiversity. To support Member States in designing and implementing land sector policies, the European Environment Agency and DG CLIMA have published in 2024 a LULUCF handbook with practical tips, examples and case studies from Member States. It includes chapters on synergies between LULUCF, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Nature Restoration Regulation, the EU Forest Strategy and proposed forest legislation, the EU Soil Strategy and proposed soil legislation, as well as the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-07-24
Deadline: 2020
Summary: The study, published in 2021, has informed, among other things, the review and revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, the Emissions Trading Scheme, and the Regulation on land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF).
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-12
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2021
Summary: The guidance aims to ensure correct, robust and harmonised implementation of the new forest biomass criteria of Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) throughout the EU.
Links:
- Vote of the Committee
- Online consultation (closed)
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2448 of 13 December 2022 on establishing operational guidance on the evidence for demonstrating compliance with the sustainability criteria for forest biomass laid down in Article 29 of Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
Updated on: 2023-04-18
Deadline: 2021
Summary: Under this action, and with the support of a technical project, the Commission will assess latest data on biofuels with high indirect land-use change risk, in order to establish a trajectory for their gradual phase out by 2030.
Links:
Restoring freshwater ecosystems
Target 11 - At least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers are restored.
Updated on: 2025-08-04
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The target to achieve at least 25,000 km of free flowing rivers in the EU aims at supporting the restoration of freshwater ecosystems and the natural functions of rivers, by removing barriers and restoring floodplains and wetlands. The Commission has developed, in close consultation with authorities in the Member States as well as with EU level stakeholders, guidance to assist the Member States in: • identifying (primarily obsolete) barriers that are feasible to remove, with a view to re-establishing the natural functions of a river system and restoring free flowing rivers. • identifying possible funding sources for restoration at the identified sites.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-01-12
Deadline: 2030
Summary: In line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Nature Restoration Regulation (see action 10) sets a binding target for Member States to identify and remove barriers that prevent the connectivity of surface waters, so that at least 25 000 km of rivers are restored to a free-flowing state by 2030 in comparison to 2020. Member States are responsible for implementation.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-08
Deadline: 2023
Summary: The Commission seeks to support Member States in defining and implementing ecological flows, including through a review of permits for abstraction and impoundment.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-08
Deadline: 2027
Summary: By 2027, ecological flows should have been defined and implemented to achieve good status or potential of all surface waters and good status of all groundwater, as required by the Water Framework Directive, including through a review of national abstraction and impoundment permits.
Addressing invasive alien species
Target 12 - There is a 50% reduction in the number of Red List species threatened by invasive alien species.
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission will work with the Member States to step up implementation of the EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species (IAS) and other relevant legislation and international instruments. The aim is to ensure that the introduction and establishment of invasive alien species in the EU environment is minimised and where possible is eliminated, while established invasive alien species are managed. A review of the application of the EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species was published in 2021. The list of IAS of Union concern was updated in August 2022 and July 2025. There are currently 114 species listed as IAS of Union concern.The European Commission has established the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) to support the implementation of the IAS Regulation. The Commission has funded several projects on managing and eradicating IAS through the LIFE programme, including several projects on island ecosystems such as in the EU’s Overseas Countries and Territories. It has further tasked the IUCN with the setting up of a rapid response fund to provide small grants for rapid IAS eradication actions. Two Horizon Europe projects have been launched to strengthen monitoring and modelling of IAS in the EU, both in terrestrial and in aquatic ecosystems. Finally, a horizon scanning study published in April 2025 aims to identify which IAS are a priority for future listing. Several workshops have been organised to provide Member States with management experiences to facilitate eradication and management actions. Member States reported in June 2025 on their implementation of the IAS Regulation and on activities they have conducted up to December 2024. The Commission will publish an EU-level analysis of these reports in 2026.
Links:
Reducing pollution
Target 13 - The losses of nutrients from fertilisers are reduced by 50%, resulting in the reduction of the use of fertilisers by at least 20%.
Updated on: 2026-02-19
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission has increased policy implementation and enforcement efforts to reduce by at least 50% nutrient losses from nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers, in line with the targets set by the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Farm to Fork Strategy and the Zero Pollution Action Plan, while ensuring that there is no deterioration in soil fertility. About 90% of the actions announced in the Zero Pollution Action Plan (2021) have been completed (see action tracker). The 2nd Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report (EEA, 2025) provides an overview of progress. The Vision for Agriculture and Food (2025) highlights the importance of tackling nutrient (and other) pollution and sets out a number of additional measures, such as support to farmers. Under the EU Water Framework Directive, the implementation report for the 3rd River Basin Management Plans (2025) recommends actions that Member States should take to, inter alia, reduce nutrient pollution. Under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the implementation report on the 2nd programme of measures (2025) recommends actions that Member States should take to, inter alia, reduce excess nutrient loading in enclosed marine ecosystems. The European Water Resilience Strategy (2025) announces many flagship actions aiming to restore and protect the water cycle, including the launch, by 2027, of an Assistance Toolbox to support Member States’ actions to reduce nutrients pollution, including through enhanced modelling, interactive maps and exchanges of best practices. The Commission has launched an evaluation of the EU Nitrates Directive which lays down rules to reduce water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources, and to prevent further such pollution. The Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive concerns the collection, treatment and discharge of urban wastewater and the treatment and discharge of wastewater from certain industrial sectors. The recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (2024), will contribute to further reducing nutrient releases from non-agricultural sources, and will include more stringent limit values to treat nitrogen and phosphorus. The amended Industrial and Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0) (2025) is the main EU instrument to reduce emissions into air, water and land, and to prevent waste generation from large industrial installations and intensive livestock farms (pig and poultry). The second Commission report on the implementation of the National Emission Reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive, and the evaluation of the Directive, were published in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Overall, Member States are partially on track of meeting their reduction commitments with most compliance challenges still relating to reducing ammonia emissions.
Links:
- Zero Pollution Action Plan
- Zero Pollution Action Tracker
- Second Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook Report (2025)
- Mid-term review of the Zero Pollution Action Plan (2026)
- Vision for Agriculture and Food (2025)
- European Water Resilience Strategy (2025)
- WFD Implementation Report for the 3rd River Basin Management Plans (2025)
- Implementation report on the 2nd programme of measures under the MSFD (2025)
- Evaluation of the Nitrates Directive
- Recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (2024)
- Amended Industrial adn Livestock Rearing Emissions Directive (IED 2.0) (2025)
- Second Commission Report on the implementation of the NEC Directive (2024)
Updated on: 2026-02-19
Deadline: 2022
Summary: Under the EU’s Green Deal, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission announced it would draw up an integrated nutrient management action plan (INMAP) to help achieve the 2030 targets set in these strategies to reduce nutrient losses by at least 50%. The plan would support the implementation and enforcement of the relevant environmental and climate legislation, by identifying with the Member States the nutrient load reductions needed to achieve these goals, by applying balanced fertilisation and sustainable nutrient management and by managing nitrogen and phosphorus better throughout their lifecycle. A public consultation was completed in the summer of 2022 to collect the views of the public and of stakeholders on the aspects of an EU integrated nutrient management action plan. Reducing pollution from excess nutrients in the environment remains an important objective under the European Green Deal and part of the EU’s international commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. In 2025 the INMAP has been largely overtaken by other initiatives. The European Water Resilience Strategy and the Vision for Agriculture and Food have identified nutrient pollution as a continuous priority challenge and several actions were announced to address the issue. The Commission has launched an evaluation of the EU Nitrates Directive, which lays down rules to reduce water pollution caused or induced by nitrates from agricultural sources, and to prevent further such pollution. The Integrated Nutrient Management Plan has been postponed while the evaluation of the Nitrates Directive is taking place.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-19
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The zero pollution vision for 2050 is that air, water and soil pollution will be reduced to levels that are no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems, and that respect the boundaries with which our planet can cope, thereby creating a toxic-free environment. The Zero Pollution Action Plan was adopted in May 2021. About 90% of the actions announced in 2021 have been completed (see action tracker). The 2nd Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook report published by the EEA on 3 March 2025 provides an overview of progress. The Mid-term review of the Zero Pollution Action Plan outlines the need for further efforts in implementation, investments and integration as well as for innovation, digitalisation and skills.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-06-02
Deadline: 2020
Summary: The EU chemicals strategy for sustainability, adopted in October 2020, aims to help protect citizens and the environment against hazardous chemicals and to encourage innovation for the development of safe and sustainable alternatives. This means simplifying and strengthening the legal framework, improve cooperation and transparency between EU agencies and scientific bodies as well as ensure that the regulatory framework rapidly reflects scientific evidence on the risk posed by hazardous chemicals. The EEA, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Commission developed and published the EU indicator framework for chemicals in 2024. It includes a dashboard organized according to the toxic free hierarchy: “safe and sustainable chemicals”, “minimise and control the risks” and “eliminate and remediate chemical pollution”. The amendment to the Regulation on classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation) was adopted in 2024. It provides for improved hazard information and labelling, reinforces hazard criteria relevant to human and environmental health, and sets out clearer rules on aspects such as refill, bulk sale and online sale. The 2022 Commission proposal on water pollutants aims to improve the environmental quality of European freshwaters and protect the environment from the adverse effects of hazardous chemicals. Political agreement has been reached, and formal adoption is expected in early 2026. In July 2025, the European Commission presented an Action Plan for the Chemicals Industry to strengthen the competitiveness and modernisation of the EU chemical sector. The Action Plan is accompanied by a simplification omnibus on chemicals to further streamline and simplify key EU chemicals legislation. The Action Plan reaffirms the Commission's efforts to minimise per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) emissions through a robust, science-based restriction, on the basis of the European Chemicals Agency's opinion on the Universal PFAS restriction dossier, while ensuring continued use in critical applications under strict conditions. In December 2025, the Regulation establishing a common data platform on chemicals, the Regulation on the re-attribution of scientific and technical tasks and improving cooperation among Union agencies and the Directive on the re-attribution of scientific and technical tasks to the European Chemicals Agency were published. These measures are part of the one-substance one-assessment package, which aims to streamline assessments of chemicals across EU legislation; strengthen the knowledge base on chemicals; and ensure early detection and action on emerging chemical risks. The Industrial Emissions Directive was revised in 2024 to improve the Directive’s effectiveness in preventing or minimising the emissions of pollutants by agro-industrial installations at source and support the transition towards their use of safer or less toxic chemicals, amongst others.
Links:
- Amendment to CLP Regulation (2024)
- Simplification Omnibus on chemicals
- EU Indicator framework for chemicals
- One substance one assessment package
- Revised Industrial Emissions Directive
- EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
- Action Plan for the Chemicals Industry (2025)
- Action Tracker on the implementation of the EU Chemicals Strategy
Greening urban and peri-urban areas
Target 14 - Cities with at least 20,000 inhabitants have an ambitious Urban Greening Plan.
Updated on: 2025-08-11
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2022
Summary: The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to ensure that all cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants will have an ambitious urban greening plan by 2030. To support authorities in this work, the Commission published, in 2022, guidance to help cities and municipalities develop and implement Urban Nature Plans integrated into all relevant aspects of the local planning process. Furthermore, under the Nature Restoration Regulation (2024), Member States must ensure that there is no net loss in the total national area of urban green space and of urban tree canopy cover in urban ecosystems by 2030, and an increasing trend thereafter until satisfactory levels have been reached (see also Action 10).
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-19
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2022
Summary: An online Urban Greening Platform has been set up to provide a coherent point for cities to access information and support in setting up their Urban Greening Plans. It will be integrated with the existing relevant Commission technical tools and urban environment initiatives.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-07-12
Deadline: 2030
Summary: This action can be taken up by sub-national authorities in the Member States. The aim is to ensure that urban planning processes systematically incorporate and promote green Infrastructure thinking and nature-based solutions. Such approaches have been incorporated into the guidance for preparing Urban greening plans and delivered via the Urban Greening Platform.
Links:
Restoring marine ecosystems
Target 15 - The negative impacts on sensitive species and habitats, including on the seabed through fishing and extraction activities, are substantially reduced to achieve good environmental status.
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2030
Summary: This action is linked to the action on fisheries management measures, and to the action plan to conserve fisheries resources and protect marine ecosystems. The objectives are partially achieved, for most fish stocks with MSY advice in the northeast Atlantic (including the North Sea, Channel, Celtic Seas and the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Atlantic coast, although some stocks are above and some are below the target rate. Conditions in the Baltic Sea remain very challenging. In the Mediterranean Sea the current rate has decreased in recent years and has for the first time reached an average below the target rate. For the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Fisheries Council decided on a 66% reduction of fishing effort for 2025 in Spanish and French waters and by 38% in French and Italian waters. The Fisheries Council also agreed to continue the use of the compensation mechanism that was established for the first time for 2022, allocating additional days to trawlers that opt for more selective gear or that are covered by a national conservation measure. The latest Communication on the state of EU fisheries (June 2025) indicates that overall, more fish stocks are being fished at sustainable levels but that further efforts are needed to ensure resilient and sustainable fisheries.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The EU Action Plan: Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems for sustainable and resilient fisheries was adopted on 21 February 2023. The initiative is based on existing legal obligations and links the implementation of the Common fisheries policy (CFP) with the environmental legislation and policy, notably the Birds, Habitats and the Marine strategy framework directives (MSFD). The action plan opens a debate on on how to deliver synergies between the EU fisheries and environmental law and sets out actions for discussion to protect and restore fisheries resources and marine ecosystems, notably by calling on Member states to consider actions to step up efforts on decreasing the bycatch of sensitive species and better protecting Marine protected areas from the adverse environmental effects of mobile bottom fishing. Such actions would benefit EU citizens through enhanced marine ecosystem services (notably climate change mitigation and the provision of sustainable seafood), but also the fishing sector through more resilient and robust commercial fish stocks. It complements the Commission communication on the functioning of the Common fisheries policy (CFP), as well as the implementation of the 2019 Technical Measures Regulation (TMR), which showed that some Member States have used the regionalised approach to introduce additional fisheries measures to protect sensitive species and habitats at the national and regional level. The action plan is an important step to deliver results under the EU Biodiversity strategy for 2030, alongside other measures such as the extension and effective management of marine protected areas and the adoption of legally binding restoration targets under the Nature restoration law.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (MSPD) aims to promote the sustainable development of maritime economies and sustainable use of marine resources. It requires Member States to establish and implement maritime spatial plans (MSP) that set out where and how activities like shipping, fishing, energy, aquaculture and conservation take place, while considering land-sea interactions and applying an ecosystem-based approach to reduce the adverse impacts of fishing, extraction and other human activities on species and habitats. This is also of high importance for sea basins with legal instruments in place, like the Mediterranean (ICZM Protocol). MSPs need to be consistent with the marine strategies that Member States have prepared under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive to ensure that the legal obligations are achieved. The Commission published a report on MSP implementation in 2022. As of 2024, almost all (except for two) EU Member States with marine waters have established and submitted to the Commission maritime spatial plans under the MSPD. In 2023, the European Blue Forum was launched to facilitate a dialogue between offshore operators, stakeholders and scientists on synergies between maritime activities, and to reconcile sea uses. The Commission has also developed a tool to map and help identify suitable areas where accelerated permitting for renewable energy projects would not be expected to have significant environmental effects (giving priority to man-made environments, and excluding Natura 2000 sites, national protected areas, bird and marine mammal migratory routes, and other areas identified based on sensitivity maps). The European Maritime Spatial Planning Platform provides a central information and communication gateway offering information and support to EU Member States’ officials, planners and stakeholders in their efforts to implement MSP. It provides information on the MSP process in each of the European Sea Basins, and on national MSP processes on its Country pages. The MSP Library includes studies, best practices, tools, guidance and videos, while a co-existence and multi-use of activities page provides extensive information about the challenges, enablers and real-life multi-use case studies in a dedicated database.
Links:
- European Blue Forum
- New EU Maritime Spatial Planning Directive
- Commission report on MSP implementation (COM/2022/185 final)
- Guidelines for implementing an ecosystem-based approach in maritime spatial planning
- Assessment of the relevance and effect of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in the context of the European Green Deal
- European Maritime Spatial Planning Platform
Updated on: 2025-09-16
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Marine protected areas need to be designated and effectively managed to protect habitats and species protected by the Birds and Habitats Directives as well as to achieve good environmental status of marine ecosystems under the MSFD. Management of a given MPA may require regulating fishing activities. Since the conservation of marine biological resources under the common fisheries policy (CFP) is an exclusive competence of the European Union, it is up to the EU to take any fisheries-related measures. The CFP provides for a toolbox for taking fisheries conservation measures and gives also Member States the chance to play an active role in designing fisheries measures through the so-called regionalisation.
Updated on: 2025-09-16
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2023
Summary: Threshold values for seabed integrity under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) define a maximum extent of loss and adverse effect of seabed habitats to be in good environmental status (GES). Commission Decision (EU) 2017/848 on good environmental status requires that these threshold values are set through an EU process. Extent thresholds have been developed by the Technical Group on Seabed Habitats (TG Seabed) and adopted in March 2023 by the Marine Strategy Coordination Group within the MSFD Common implementation strategy process. According to TG Seabed's recommendation, a maximum extent of 25% of a seabed habitat can be under adverse effects, of which a maximum extent of 2% can be irremediably lost. These recommendations apply to all seabed broad habitat types in EU waters.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-16
Deadline: 2027
Summary: This action is about providing financial support for the transition to more selective gear and less damaging fishing techniques through the actions supported by the European, Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) Programmes. In March 2023, the Commission completed the adoption of the national EMFAF Programmes, in which Member States have formulated strong commitments. The Commission will now ensure that the implementation of the EMFAF by Member States concretely contributes to the achievement of the overall environment, climate and biodiversity targets established in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 through a series of actions, including the promotion of sustainable, low-impact and low-carbon fishing activities. The Commission will also implement EMFAF actions directly (under ‘direct management’) to support the promotion of clean and healthy seas and oceans.
Links:
Target 16 - The by-catch of species is eliminated or reduced to a level that allows species recovery and conservation.
Updated on: 2025-11-11
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The by-catch of species threatened with extinction must be eliminated or reduced to a level that allows their full recovery. This should also be the case for species in bad conservation status or not in good environmental status under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Furthermore, by-catch of other species must be eliminated or, where this is not possible, minimised so as not to threaten their conservation status. To support this, data collection on by-catch for all sensitive species needs to be stepped up. The marine action plan adopted on 21 February 2023 contributes to delivering on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, in particular by committing to minimise fisheries impacts on sensitive species through concrete measures to be taken by the Commission and the Member States.
Links:
ENABLING TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE
A new governance framework
Updated on: 2025-08-08
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Commission has put in place measures to strengthen EU biodiversity governance to enable coherent implementation, progress monitoring and review of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. The EU Biodiversity Platform, the main expert group for the coordinated implementation of the Strategy, was launched in early 2022 with a strengthened mandate and renewed membership, as well as improved mechanisms to engage with the knowledge community and interact with Commission groups in other policy areas. Online progress tracking tools have been set up including (i) the biodiversity action tracker presenting progress in the implementation of the Strategy's actions, and (ii) a dashboard with a set of indicators to show progress to each EU biodiversity target (under development). The actions under the Strategy are being implemented in a joint effort across Commission services, which are also responsible for the updating of the action tracker. See also actions 79-81 on strengthening knowledge governance.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-05-19
Deadline: 2023 | Delayed: 2024
Summary: In the course of 2023, the Commission consulted the EU Biodiversity Platform on different aspects of EU-level biodiversity governance such as the functioning of the EUBP and its sub-groups, biodiversity finance, progress tracking and knowledge governance. The consultation findings were presented in a summary report, and key conclusions were reflected in the mid-term review of the 8th Environment Action Programme (March 2024), alongside an assessment of progress towards the 8th EAP's priority objective on biodiversity. The JRC/EEA science-for-policy report on progress in implementing the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (May 2025) provides a further assessment of the state of play of the monitoring framework of the EU biodiversity strategy. It highlights the need to fill existing gaps in EU indicators and to increase coherence with the monitoring frameworks of other EU policies and the Global Biodiversity Framework. Findings from these assessments will support further work on developing the EU governance framework.
Stepping up implementation and enforcement of EU environmental legislation
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission and the Member States will work to increase political support, financial and human resources in order to ensure that environmental-related legislation with an impact on biodiversity (in particular the EU Nature Directives and other key biodiversity legislation, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the Water Framework Directive) is implemented, enforced and - where necessary - reviewed and revised. Capacity building support for implementation is available to authorities in the Member States under several EU instruments, including the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), TAIEX Peer 2 Peer, GreenAssist and others.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-10-01
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Under the Action Plan on environmental compliance assurance, the Commission supports the EU Member States to ensure proper implementation and compliance with Union environmental legislation, including on nature and biodiversity. The activities include preparation of guidance documents and training materials, collection and sharing of good enforcement practices, promotion of the use of geo-spatial intelligence for compliance assurance purposes. The Environmental Compliance and Governance Forum. Close was established as a Commission expert group to serve as a platform for strategic exchanges on wider environmental governance issues. In the auspices of the Forum, a Summary Guide and a Vademecum on environmental compliance assurance in rural areas were prepared and published online. A Guidance and a Summary guide on combating environmental crimes and related infringements, focussing on wildlife and waste crime, were published. The activities are undertaken in close cooperation with the EU-level networks of environmental enforcement practitioners, such as ENPE (prosecutors), IMPEL (inspectors), EUFJE (judges) and EnviCrimeNet (police and other enforcement officers) that work together with the Commission’s support on environmental compliance assurance and effectively tackling environmental crime, including wildlife crime.
Links:
Updated on: 2021-12-14
Deadline: 2020
Summary: On 6 October 2021 the EU adopted the Aarhus Regulation that allows for increased public scrutiny of EU acts affecting the environment. The Commission had proposed the amendment in October 2020, following its commitment under the European Green Deal to improve access to administrative and judicial review at EU level for citizens and environmental non-governmental organisations. The revised Regulation improves the possibilities for civil society to request that EU institutions review their acts with the aim to ensure better environmental protection and a more effective climate action. Under the new rules, applicants may request review of administrative acts of EU institutions that contravene EU environmental law. The challenged acts may be administrative acts of individual scope, but also of general scope and may be adopted in any policy area. In addition to environmental NGOs, applicants may also include, under certain conditions, individuals, or groups of concerned members of the public.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-10-01
Deadline: 2021
Summary: To tackle environmental crime effectively, following a proposal of the Commission from December 2021, the Council and the European Parliament adopted the new Environmental Crime Directive (EU) 2024/1203 (ECD) which entered into force on 20 May 2024 and has to be transposed in national law by May 2026. The new ECD provides for a solid list of criminal offences. It covers serious breaches of key EU environmental obligations. Compared with the 2008 Environmental Crime Directive, which it replaces, several new offence categories are introduced, such as serious breaches of legislation on invasive alien species of Union concern, serious breaches of o the EU Anti-Deforestation Regulation, unlawful ship recycling, unlawful water abstraction, serious breaches of Union chemicals and mercury legislation. The definition of the offences related to wildlife killing and trafficking and to habitats deterioration were refined. In addition, Member States are obliged to establish qualified offences where serious damage to or destruction of the environment is caused by committing one of the offences defined in the Directive. These qualified offences shall be subject to more severe penalties than those for the other offences. The concrete provisions on types and levels of penalties for natural and legal persons are also a huge step forward. The new ECD includes also unique provisions on strengthening the enforcement chain and on supporting environmental defenders. It will lead to much more effective work of practitioners in tackling on the ground serious environmental breaches.
Links:
Business for biodiversity
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), adopted in 2024, creates due diligence requirements for human rights and environmental adverse impacts across the global value chains of large European companies and large third-country companies with a significant turnover in the EU. SMEs are excluded from any duty or liability. In April 2025, it was amended by Directive 2025/794, postponing the CSDDD application to the first group of largest companies in its scope by one year to give them more time to prepare. In the framework of the Omnibus I simplification package, co-legislators have also introduced some substantive amendments, which aim to enable companies to stay firmly on course toward the sustainability goals, while simplifying the rules and minimising regulatory burden as much as possible. The application of the rules is postponed by one additional year (to July 2029). The CSDDD requires the integration of general supply chain due diligence into corporate policies and management systems. By requiring companies to identify, assess and address adverse environmental impacts, related to international conventions listed in its annex, in their value chains, the Directive thus supports the mainstreaming of biodiversity considerations in the corporate governance of large companies in the scope of the Directive. This helps to ensure that biodiversity preservation is an integral part of business strategies, promoting sustainable interaction with ecosystems.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-12-16
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission will continue to support and cooperate with networks of businesses (corporates and investors) working to integrate biodiversity and natural capital considerations into their decision making. The Commission will continue to facilitate the sharing and mainstreaming of best practices by businesses as well as business-driven initiatives and frameworks for measuring and accounting for natural capital impacts and dependencies.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2021
Summary: On 21 April 2021, the Commission proposed a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which would amend the existing reporting requirements of the NFRD. In 2022, the EU adopted the CSRD that requires companies above a certain size to disclose information on what they see as the risks and opportunities arising from social and environmental issues, and on the impact of their activities on people and the environment. The CSRD mandates comprehensive biodiversity reporting through the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), requiring companies to assess and disclose their impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. On 5 January 2023 the CSRD entered into force. In 2024, European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) were adopted accompanied by Q&A. In 2024, the Commission published guidance on interoperability of European and global sustainability reporting standards. The first companies subject to the CSRD requirements had to apply the new rules for the first time in 2024 financial year, for reports published in 2025.
Links:
Financing for biodiversity
Updated on: 2026-01-06
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Launched in 2020, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 sets ambitious restoration and conservation objectives to put the European Union on the path to nature and biodiversity recovery. In May 2022, the Commission released a study which finds that the scale of financing needs to deliver the Strategy, including baseline expenditure, is estimated at around EUR 48 billion annually between 2021 and 2030, i.e. a significantly higher amount than the EUR 20 billion/year highlighted in the Biodiversity Strategy. It also estimates expenditure on biodiversity at ca. EUR 29 billion annually over 2021-2030, from EU, Member States national budgets and private financing altogether. The remaining financing gap is estimated at ca. EUR 19 billion per year from 2021 to 2030. The Commission’s 2025 Environmental Implementation Review estimated the annual investment gap for biodiversity and ecosystems (including soil ecosystems) to amount to EUR 37.4 billion. Unlocking the necessary funding to implement the EU Biodiversity Strategy will require increased financing from public budgets and private actors at national and EU level. The Commission is fully committed to the investment objectives agreed within the Kunming Montreal Protocol, namely to substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, with a view to mobilize at least USD 200 billion per year by 2030. This represents approximately a doubling from the baseline of ca. USD 100 billion per year in 2020. The EU contribution to the implementation of this global commitment will require further efforts from the EU and its Member States in terms of domestic and international biodiversity spending as well as enabling increased contributions from other sources. The EU has established a methodology to track biodiversity spending under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The EU implemented this action in support of the ambition to dedicate 7,5% in 2024 (achieved), and 10% in 2026 and 2027, of the MFF to biodiversity. EU financing for biodiversity can be found in no less than 10 different EU programmes, with the Common Agriculture Policy being the main support instrument in terms of volumes. The biodiversity spending trajectory in the current MFF has been steadily increasing, from 3,5% in 2021 to a forecast 7.9% in 2027, according to the Draft Budget 2026 (Statement of Estimates). However, more efforts are needed to meet our ambitious targets. For the next budget of the Union over the 2028-2034 period, the Commission has proposed to establish a spending target which encompasses all environmental objectives, including climate, biodiversity and circular economy. Set at 35%, it will enable to mobilise around EUR 700 billion. It is more than under the current EU budget, and aims at better capturing synergies between climate and environment policies and actions. This ambition is supported by a consistent application of the ‘do no significant harm’ principle across the EU budget. The Commission is also looking into creating new markets with the development of innovative instruments. The initiative for nature credits establishes a roadmap to build a market infrastructure where private investment flows can be exchanged to finance restoration and maintenance actions. Nature credits are market-based instruments designed to reward certified nature-positive actions and to complement, not substitute public resources with private money to help filling the investment gap for biodiversity.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-11-04
Deadline: 2022
Summary: On 13 April 2023, the Commission published an EU wide assessment of Investment needs and priorities for Natura 2000 and green infrastructure. The assessment is based on the most up-to-date information from the national prioritised action frameworks (PAF) prepared by Member States pursuant to Art. 8 of the EU Habitats Directive. The EU-level PAF follows on the commitment made by the Commission in the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 to update the estimate of the financing needs of the Natura 2000 network, now assessed at 10.2 billion EUR/year. Previous assessments have estimated the ecosystem services provided by Natura 2000 at between 200 and 300 billion EUR/year, far exceeding the costs of managing the network.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-19
Deadline: 2022
Summary: This pledge is implemented through the development of financial and advisory products for natural capital under InvestEU, building upon the lessons learned from the EU Natural Capital Financing Facility. It covers biodiversity as well as circular economy. An additional technical assistance/advisory component is provided by LIFE (up to 50 million €) to support this action, alongside with an active dialogue with EIB, EIF and other National Promotional Banks. In particular, within this budget commitment, the Green Advisory Service for Sustainable Investments Support (Green Assist) is a new advisory initiative under InvestEU delivered by CINEA under DG ENV coordination. It aims to build a pipeline for green investment projects that have a high impact and greening more traditional investments. Out of the 50 million available, up to 30 are earmarked for Green Assist, whilst up to 20 will finance the “LIFE top-up” to the Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, practically-speaking financing EIB advisory initiatives supporting green projects.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-02-26
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle was introduced for the first time in the Taxonomy Regulation. It operationalises the ‘do no harm’ notion of the European Grean Deal. It is interpreted within the meaning of Article 17 of the Taxonomy Regulation. This article defines when an economic activity constitutes ‘significant harm’ for any of the six environmental objectives covered by the Taxonomy Regulation. Thus, it provides a framework for the application of the DNSH principle. In 2020, the DNSH principle was integrated into the Interinstitutional Agreement accompanying the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021–2027, and deployed across several funding instruments and the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The revised EU Financial Regulation (2024) requires the DNSH principle to be implemented in all programmes and activities financed under the MFF. The Commission has developed guidance documents on the application of the DNSH principle to EU funding instruments including, more recently, a DNSH guidance document for the Social Climate Fund 2026-2032. As part of its package of proposals for the 2028-2034 MFF, the Commission Proposal for a Performance Regulation for the 2028-2034 MFF lays down common rules for the purpose of implementing the DNSH principle through a single and simplified guidance, which the Commission is currently preparing. The 2023 Technical Support Instrument (TSI) included a flagship measure to support Member States in the application of the DNSH principle. In 2023, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre published an analysis of the application of the DNSH principle across EU instruments (the EU taxonomy, Recovery and Resilience Facility, the European Rural Development Fund and Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and InvestEU). Additionally, as part of its work on environmentally harmful subsidies, the European Commission published, in 2022, a study proposing a toolbox and a methodology for reforming environmentally harmful subsidies in Europe. This toolbox investigates the range of environmentally harmful subsidies and those that could be reduced or eliminated relatively easily, while generating significant environmental and net fiscal benefits.
Links:
- Toolbox for reforming environmentally harmful subsidies in Europe
- Applying the DNSH principle under the Social Climate Fund - technical guidance (2025)
- RRF technical guidance
- Revised EU financial regulation (2024)
- Sustainability proofing for Invest EU - technical guidelines (2021)
- Phasing out Environmentally Harmful Subsidies
- DNSH implementation in selected EU instruments (JRC, 2023)
- Proposal for a Performance Regulation for the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework
- 2023 TSI Flagship on DNSH
- European Green Deal Communication (2019)
- EU Taxonomy Regulation (2020)
Updated on: 2024-05-31
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2023
Summary: The Commission has prepared a Delegated act setting out the technical screening criteria for determining the conditions under which an economic activity qualifies as contributing substantially to four environmental objectives under the Taxonomy Regulation: (i) the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, (ii) the transition to a circular economy, (iii) pollution prevention and control and (iv) the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. Annex IV of the adopted Delegated Act includes the technical screening criteria for the objective on the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems. As such, it establishes a common classification of economic activities that substantially contribute to the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems including forests, wetlands, peatlands, aquatic and marine ecosystems. The Commission adopted the proposal on 27 June 2023.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-11-07
Deadline: 2021
Summary: Within the framework of the European green deal, the Commission announced a renewed sustainable finance strategy. The Commission published its ‘strategy for financing the transition to a sustainable economy’ on 6 July 2021. It aims, among others, to facilitate the mainstreaming of biodiversity considerations at every step of the financial system. The initiative will also provide enabling frameworks for the European Green Deal Investment Plan and for the financial system to support a sustainable recovery from COVID-19.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-19
Deadline: 2030
Summary: This action is about ensuring the full implementation of the Polluter Pays Principle, with markets reflecting biodiversity externalities and providing a full incentive to avoid biodiversity damage. A study funded by the European Parliament was completed at the end of 2021 to inform and support actions by stakeholders and the Member States. A fitness check on the Polluter Pays Principle is ongoing, and will lead to recommendations in 2024. The action will also be supported via the European Semester process.
Links:
Measuring and integrating the value of nature (NCA)
Updated on: 2026-02-25
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The aim of this action is to support the use of criteria and methods to support decision-making in the public and business sectors and further develop natural capital accounting . This will include support to business-driven developments of principles and methods, as well as setting standards and regulation. The aim is also to integrate biodiversity into the Product Environmental Footprint and Organisations Environmental Footprint methodology. In December 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/3024 entered into force introducing new environmental economic account modules. These comprise a set of accounts on the extent and condition of ecosystems and the services they provide to society and the economy, in line with the SEEA Ecosystem Accounting. The amended Regulation mandates EU Member States to compile ecosystem services accounts at the national level. Starting in 2026, Member States will be reporting to Eurostat data on ecosystem extent accounts, seven ecosystem services accounts and ecosystem condition accounts for five types of ecosystems, using nine indicators, common definitions - as specified in the legal text - and common methods - as developed by the Task force on ecosystem accounting and published at Eurostat's methodological website on the environment, under tab 'Ecosystem accounts'. Based on this, the first official EU-wide data stream on ecosystem accounts will become available as of 2027 and will be updated annually thereafter.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-05-31
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission is supporting business and their stakeholders aiming at standardizing natural capital management accounting practices in the EU and globally. It provide LIFE support to the Transparent project --an consortium led by the Value Balancing Alliance – consisting of international companies and large professional services firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG & PwC), including the Capitals Coalition – a global collaboration of more than 370 organizations, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to develop a set of generally accepted environmental accounting principles.
Links:
Updated on: 2023-04-19
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2023
Summary: This action includes the revision of the current EU GPP criteria for office buildings, aligning the criteria with Level(s), the recently published EU framework for sustainable buildings, and assessment of the possibility to expand the scope beyond office buildings only. The revision of the EU GPP criteria is expected to be finalised by the end of 2023.
Links:
Knowledge
Updated on: 2025-08-07
Deadline: 2020
Summary: The Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity was launched in October 2020. It is hosted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and co-led by ENV, in close cooperation with the European Environment Agency. It is a one-stop shop for key information about biodiversity and the impact of related policies; a platform where progress under the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 can be monitored; and an interface for scientists to network, share research results and channel them more effectively to support EU policies.
Links:
Updated on: 2026-06-02
Deadline: 2027
Summary: Horizon Europe, amongst others, aims in contributing in the effort in halting biodiversity decline and restoring ecosystems by focusing on: (i) understanding & addressing biodiversity decline, (ii) assessing, valuing and restoring ecosystems and natural capital, (iii) nature-based solutions, (iv) transformative change, (v) connecting research for better policies, (vi) biodiversity and human health. Under Horizon Europe, the Commission is working to establish a long-term strategic research agenda for biodiversity and established a science policy mechanism for research-based options for ratcheting up the implementation of biodiversity commitments (Science Service for Biodiversity, within the Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity).The successive Horizon Europe Work Programmes part on Cluster 6 ‘Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment’ include a Destination “Biodiversity” which addresses the biodiversity crisis. In addition, biodiversity is mainstreamed in all parts of Horizon Europe Work Programmes, with a target of 10% of the expenditure in 2026-2027. EU Missions launched under Horizon Europe (the Mission Restore our ocean and waters by 2030, the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, the Cities Mission and the Climate Adaptation Mission) strongly support biodiversity objectives.
Links:
- Mission Soil Platform
- Mission Oceans and Waters
- EU Missions in Horizon Europe
- EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities
- EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change Portal
- Science at the service of biodiversity-publication
- Horizon Europe Work Programme 2025 WP9 Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment
- Horizon Europe Work Programme 2023-24 WP9 Food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture and environment
- Horizon Europe Work Programme 2021-22 Cluster 6 Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
Updated on: 2025-09-02
Deadline: 2021
Summary: The European Biodiversity Partnership, Biodiversa+, brings together national research and policy/regulatory bodies responsible for biodiversity, to jointly mobilise coherent, transnational research for finding solutions to be implemented across Europe to halt the loss of biodiversity and to put nature on a path to recovery. This unique partnership is facilitated and co-funded by the European Commission. Its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) has been released in November 2021 and is currently being updated. Among other activities, the Partnership organises annual calls to fund transnational research projects. The first call (BiodivProtect) launched in 2021 is funding 36 projects in the field of biodiversity protection; the second call (BiodivMon) launched in 2022 supports 33 projects that help to improve transnational biodiversity monitoring; and the third call (BiodivNBS) launched in 2023 supports 34 projects working on nature-based solutions (NbS). The fourth call (BiodivTransform) on "biodiversity and transformative change" was launched in September 2024, with funded projects to be announced before the end of 2025, while the fifth call (BiodivConnect) to be launched in September 2025 will focus on the restoration of ecosystem functioning, integrity and connectivity. The Partnership also supports the establishment of a transnational network of biodiversity monitoring schemes, including through a series of pilot projects, and helps making the business case for biodiversity conservation and restoration. The Partnership's mid-term conference will take place in a hybrid format on 17-18 September 2025. More info: https://www.biodiversa.eu/ [Note: this summary was last updated on 2 September 2025.]
Links:
Education
Updated on: 2022-04-12
Deadline: 2021
Summary: On 14 January 2022, the Commission published a proposal for a Council Recommendation on learning for environmental sustainability, and a new European sustainability competence framework developed with the Joint Research Centre.
Links:
EU EXTERNAL ACTION AND AN AMBITIOUS GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY AGENDA
Raising the level of ambition and commitment worldwide
Updated on: 2023-04-12
Deadline: 2022
Summary: On 19 December, a new Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada. This landmark agreement includes four ambitious goals and 23 targets for 2030, including to place under effective protection 30% of land and 30% of oceans, restore 30% of degraded ecosystems, reduce to near zero the loss of high biodiversity areas, as well as reduce by half excess nutrients and the risk posed by pesticides and hazardous chemicals. To enable transformative change, the global agreement includes commitments to progressively phase out or reform subsidies that harm biodiversity by at least 500 billion USD/year, secure 30 billion USD for biodiversity by 2030, and strengthen the disclosure of risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity for large and transnational businesses and financial institutions.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-03-18
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The High-Ambition Coalition for Nature and People aims to protect 30% of land and seas, foster nature-based solutions and an ambitious post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The European Commission and 23 Member States are currently Members of the Coalition. The Commission has also launched a Coalition of Botanical Gardens, Zoos, Aquaria and Research Centres for mobilising citizens’ support across the globe.
Links:
International Ocean Governance
Updated on: 2025-11-06
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2022
Summary: Covering nearly two-thirds of the world’s oceans and about 95% of their volume, areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) comprise the high seas (water column) and the subjacent international seabed (the Area). These areas contain a rich biodiversity of both ecological and socioeconomic importance. This biodiversity is under mounting pressure, including from overexploitation, pollution, the impacts of climate change, and the spread of invasive species. The increasing demand for marine resources – for food, minerals or biotechnology – will further exacerbate this problem. Faced with these challenges and following over a decade of preparatory work, an overwhelming majority of States in the United Nations agreed in 2017 on the need for a new legally binding instrument under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to conserve and sustainably use marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (the "BBNJ Agreement"). The negotiations of the new BBNJ Agreement have been completed in March 2023. This international agreement further implements existing principles in UNCLOS to achieve a more holistic management of high seas activities, which should better balance the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. These principles include the obligation of cooperation, the science-based approach to the conservation and management of marine resources, the duty to protect and preserve the marine environment, and the duty to undertake prior impact assessment of activities. The agreement covers four areas: 1) marine genetic resources and the sharing of benefit; 2) area based management tools, including marine protected areas; 3) environmental impact assessments; and 4) capacity building and the transfer of marine technology. It further supports the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 14 (“Life Below Water”). It offers perspectives with regard to establishing procedures for identifying and managing marine protected areas in the high seas. The EU and its Member States have been engaged in this process since its beginning. They were among the first to sign and - for the EU and several Member States - to ratify the agreement. They continue to promote the ratification and effective implementation through the High Ambition Coalition, which they launched, to enhance momentum in support of achieving an ambitious and inclusive agreement. Thanks to the efforts of the EU, its Member States and other actors, the number of ratifications required for the Agreement to enter into force (60) has been reached on 19 September 2025 (it now - 6 November 2025 - counts 75 Parties), enabling it to enter, into force in early 2026. The convening of the first Conference of the Parties is expected to be held later in 2026. The EU and its Member States participate actively in its preparation through the Preparatory Commission established for that purpose.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-12-16
Deadline: 2022 | Delayed: 2024
Summary: The EU and its Member States have submitted two MPA proposals to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), one in East Antarctica (since 2012) and another in the Weddell Sea (Phase 1) (since 2016). Although both proposals are based on best available science, they have never managed to reach consensus due to continued opposition from two CCAMLR Members. The two MPA proposals are also co-sponsored by the United States, New Zealand, South Korea, India, Ukraine, Australia, Uruguay, Norway and the United Kingdom. Chile joined as a co-sponsor of the Weddell Sea Phase 1 MPA proposal in 2022 and as a co-sponsor of the East Antarctic MPA proposal in 2024. Two more proposals are currently under consideration at CCAMLR: the proposal from Chile and Argentina to create a MPA in the (Western) Antarctic Peninsula, and the proposal from Norway and the United Kingdom for the Weddell Sea Phase 2 MPA (which complements our Phase 1 proposal).
Updated on: 2026-06-02
Deadline: 2030
Summary: In international negotiations, the EU should advocate that marine minerals in the international seabed area cannot be exploited before the effects of deep-sea mining on the marine environment, biodiversity and human activities have been sufficiently researched, the risks are understood and the technologies and operational practices are able to demonstrate no harm to the environment, in line with the precautionary principle and taking into account the call of the European Parliament. However, the role of the European Commission at the Council meetings of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) so far has been limited to its capacity of observer. In June 2025 the European Commission adopted the European Ocean Pact, a comprehensive strategy to better protect the ocean, promote a thriving blue economy and support the well-being of people living in coastal areas. In this Pact the Commission reiterated its precautionary stance on deep-sea mining, emphasising the need for more research into its potential environmental, biodiversity, and socio-economic impacts. The Commission calls for such precautionary pause until sufficient scientific evidence is available to confirm that deepsea mining poses no threat to the marine ecosystems. The Commission will advocate for a rules-based approach at the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
Links:
- Communication on The European Oceans Pact
- Setting the course for a sustainable blue planet - Joint Communication on the EU’s International Ocean Governance agenda
- Proposal for a Council decision on the position to be taken on behalf of the European Union at the meetings of the Council and the Assembly of the International Seabed Authority
Trade policy
Updated on: 2025-12-16
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) delivered an important contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.6 to prohibiting certain harmful fisheries subsidies. The 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in June 2022 adopted a new WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. This agreement entered into force on 15 September 2025. The EU remains committed to further negotiations to complement the multilateral rules with additional provisions disciplining harmful fisheries subsidies.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-30
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The EU proposes specific biodiversity provisions through the Trade and Sustainable Development chapter of its trade agreements . Therein the parties recognise the importance of conserving and sustainably using biological diversity, and the role of trade in pursuing these objectives, consistent with relevant multilateral environmental agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The agreements provide for a platform of cooperation and contain binding commitments on the effective implementation of relevant multilateral agreements, which are as a matter of last resort enforceable through the dispute settlement mechanism. Biodiversity features regularly in the government-to-government discussions as well as in the context of the exchanges with and between Domestic Advisory Groups and civil society at large, which play an important role in supporting the monitoring and implementation process. Recent agreements, which entered into force, with dedicated biodiversity provisions include those with Kenya, Chile and New Zealand.
Updated on: 2025-09-30
Deadline: 2030
Summary: A study has been published in 2021 on developing a methodology to assess trade liberalization impacts on biodiversity. This methodology is used in trade agreements evaluations and will help to identify actions to strengthen the biodiversity provisions of trade agreements. This methodology is used in both ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of trade agreements. For example, the June 2025 ex-post assessment report of CETA specifically analyses the impact of the agreement on biodiversity (Ex-post evaluations: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/analysis-and-assessment/ex-post-evaluations_en). The impact of trade liberalisation on biodiversity plays an important role in assessments of trade agreements. In line with the Communication on “The power of trade partnerships: together for green and just economic growth” (June 2022), environmental priorities should be developed involving civil society. They already feature in the impact assessment preceding the launch of negotiations, but are to be further refined during the sustainability impact assessment, and assessed in ex-post analysis during implementation. A study on the impact of EU FTAs on key environmental aspects including climate, published in February 2025 (Ex-post evaluations: https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/analysis-and-assessment/ex-post-evaluations_en), concludes that EU agreements contribute to alliance-building, supporting informal and multilateral cooperation on biodiversity, climate, circular economy, and deforestation.
Links:
Deforestation, wildlife trafficking, illicit trade
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2021
Summary: Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on the making available on the Union market and the export from the Union of certain commodities and products associated with deforestation and forest degradation ('EU Deforestation Regulation', EUDR) was adopted on 31 May 2023. The EUDR aims to minimise the EU’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide and promote the consumption of products from deforestation-free supply chains in the EU. The Regulation requires any operator or trader who places commodities like cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber and some of their derived products on the EU market, or exports from it, to be able to prove that these products do not originate from deforested land, and that they have not contributed to forest degradation after 31 of December 2020. In May 2025, the Commission adopted an Implementing Regulation under the EUDR that classifies countries according to their risk of deforestation as well as a Staff Working Document outlining the methodology used. On 19 December 2025, an amending Regulation was adopted to simplify EUDR reporting obligations and to postpone its entry into application to 30 December 2026 for medium and large operators, and to 30 June 2027 for most micro- and small enterprises. Additional tools, platforms and measures have been developed to support implementation, such as an April 2025 simplification package, including an updated Guidance Document and FAQs to provide further simplifications and reduce the administrative burden for implementing the EUDR.
Links:
- EUDR policy page
- EUDR information system
- Regulation (EU) 2023/1115
- April 2025 simplification package
- 20 May 2025 Commission Implementing Regulation laying down rules for the application of the Deforestation Regulation
- Regulation (EU) 2025/2650 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 as regards certain obligations of operators and traders
Updated on: 2026-02-18
Deadline: 2021 | Delayed: 2022
Summary: The illegal trade in wild plants and animals remains a significant threat to nature and to human well-being. It contributes to the decline of biodiversity, threatens the livelihoods of local communities, undermines the rule of law, and brings with it public health risks. The EU action plan against wildlife trafficking has been revised in 2022 to strengthen the efforts of EU institutions and EU countries to coordinate and address the most important sources of the problem. The EU Action Plan against wildlife trafficking Progress report for 2023 indicates that challenges include convicting offenders of financial crimes, insufficient statistical data that covers all the stages of the administrative and criminal proceedings, and too few cross-border investigations.
Links:
Updated on: 2021-12-16
Deadline: 2021
Summary: On 16 December 2021, the Commission adopted new measures towards effectively banning most forms of EU trade in ivory, as announced in the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. While the EU is not identified as a region of concern regarding illegal ivory trade, the revision of the existing EU rules on ivory trade reaffirms and delivers on the EU’s commitment to take further action against elephant poaching and ivory trafficking globally. This additional step came a day after the Commission adopted a proposal for a new EU Directive to crack down on environmental crime.
Links:
Updated on: 2024-08-02
Deadline: 2022
Summary: The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigates fraud against the EU budget, corruption and serious misconduct within the European institutions, and develops anti-fraud policy. This action aims at equipping OLAF with coordinating and investigative capacities to work with Member States and non-EU countries to prevent illicit trade and the entry of illicit products into the Single Market.
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: Aid for Trade (AfT) is a 2005 WTO-led initiative; it encompasses a third of EU projects and programmes in support of trade and productive capacities in EU partner countries. The aim is to mobilise AfT to facilitate the transition towards more environmentally sustainable development and growth models, including by supporting biodiversity-friendly trade. This can fit within the broader AfT objective of assisting countries’ transition to low carbon and climate change resilient economies.
Links:
International cooperation, neighbourhood policy and resource mobilisation
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: EU external action and cooperation on biodiversity includes direct support to conservation, sustainable use, restoration, sharing of benefits, the mainstreaming of environmental protection across development sectors and policies and the transition in development and investment models towards more biodiversity and ecosystem friendly pathways. The EU will continue to support the multilateral biodiversity agenda and the preparation of the future global biodiversity framework. This will include continued financial support through the Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation - Global Europe Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe). The President of the Commission announced in the State of the Union speech (September 2021) that the EU would double its external funding for biodiversity, in particular for the most vulnerable countries. The Commission is working on the operationalization of this commitment.
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The aim is to bring all EU neighbourhood countries on board in the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, particularly those aspiring for EU membership. In addition to the Neighbourhood Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) and the new Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA III), new facilities for Ukraine, the Western Balkans, and Moldova, will support enlargement partners in accelerating their green transition and alignment with the EU environmental standards through reforms and investments under the 2021-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). In September 2021 State of the Union Address, Commission President Von Der Leyen announced that the EU would double its external funding for biodiversity, especially for the most vulnerable countries. New facilities will contribute to the fulfilment to this commitment.
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The NaturAfrica initiative identifies key areas and landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa for EU action to tackle biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation while enabling sustainable green development and bringing multiple benefits to local communities, partner countries and the EU. In the short term, it will develop actions in key landscapes for conservation and development, building on the positive benefits that protected areas bring to society and the economy, encouraging networks of protected areas and knowledge-sharing. In the medium term, it will extend support beyond key landscapes to address the root causes of biodiversity loss and environmental degradation while mainstreaming biodiversity and improving governance. Multiple initiatives linking action on biodiversity and ecosystems to sustainable green development and benefits to / participation of local communities are being prepared in other regions as part of Multiannual Indicative Programs, with a strong Team Europe Dimension (targeting for instance Sahel, Amazon or the Pacific) including an increasing focus on action in support of cross-border landscapes.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: None
Updated on: 2026-02-23
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The considerations for implementing of the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework highlight the urgent need to reduce pressures on biodiversity and decrease environmental degradation to reduce risks to health, and, as appropriate, develop practical access and benefit-sharing arrangements. The Commission supports the adoption of a Global action plan for biodiversity and health. It applies the One Health approach when dealing with zoonotic as well as non-communicable diseases. Specific financial support to One Health activities is provided by the EU4Health Programme (2021-2027). It defines the ‘One Health approach’ as a multisectoral approach which recognises that human health is connected to animal health and to the environment. Under EU4Health, the Commission has supported coordinated action for scaling up national vector threat detection systems and control capacities to improve the surveillance and control in the EU of invasive mosquito species, which are largely responsible for the rise in cases of vector-borne diseases in recent years.
Links:
Updated on: 2025-09-22
Deadline: 2030
Summary: The Commission is actively working to mainstream biodiversity throughout a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements. The Commission is promoting such mainstreaming for example in the World Trade Organization (WTO) context. In December 2021, the EU and other 70 members of the WTO adopted a Ministerial Statement on Trade and Sustainable Development Structured Discussions (TESSD), an initiative to discuss trade related measures and policies that can best contribute to climate and environmental goals. This could potentially include trade aspects linked to protecting and conserving biodiversity and halting its loss. Furthermore, the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO met in June 2022 and adopted an outcome document recognising the loss of biodiversity as a global challenge, along with climate change and pollution. It is the first time ever that WTO Ministers make such a consensual statement.
Review of progress
Updated on: 2026-05-28
Deadline: 2024
Summary: In March 2024, the Commission published a report on the mid-term review of the 8th Environment Action Programme (8th EAP). The report includes an assessment of progress in implementing the actions set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, as well as in putting in place enabling measures to support implementation and transformative change. The latter is a contribution to Action 61 on assessing biodiversity governance effectiveness. The mid-term review draws on the European Environment Agency (EEA)’s monitoring report on progress towards the objectives of the 8th EAP. In July 2024, the Commission submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 45 EU targets in line with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). In February 2026, the Commission submitted to the CBD Secretariat the EU's 7th National Report on progress in implementing the GBF, including a detailed assessment of progress to each of the 45 EU targets in line with the GBF. As of March 2026, most EU Member States have also submitted their 7th National Reports to the CBD, providing further information on national implementation progress.
Links:
- CBD online reporting tool - national targets
- CBD online reporting tool - 7th national reports
- Monitoring report on the 8th EAP progress (EEA, 2024)
- EU 7th national report to CBD (European Commission, 2026)
- 8th EAP mid-term review report (European Commission, 2024)
- Monitoring report on progress in implementing the EU BDS2030 (JRC, 2025)