This section mainly covers the EU's domestic policies in areas relating to the biodiversity, climate change and energy nexus. The EU's international engagement and policies relating to biodiversity and climate are covered under the topic biodiversity and its global governance.

Biodiversity, climate and energy are among the main areas of action of the European Green Deal (EGD). Action on biodiversity is covered under the domain "Environment and oceans," and enshrined in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Priority actions on climate change consist of the Climate Law, the Climate Pact, and the Adaptation Strategy (as well as international action, whose biodiversity relevance is covered elsewhere). In the energy domain, the focus is mainly on security and affordability, energy system integration, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Agriculture is a separate domain under the EGD but here we only focus on aspects of agriculture that relate to the biodiversity, climate and energy nexus, such as biofuel feedstock cultivation and agro-forestry. Other aspects will be covered under the forthcoming topic "biodiversity and agriculture."

The EU's 8th EAP (April 2022) or General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030, while strongly supporting EGD objectives, goes beyond the EGD. Its priority objectives set out a direction for Union policymaking, building on, but not limited to, the commitments of the strategies and initiatives of the EGD. It stipulates that the green transition should enable systemic change, recognising that our wellbeing and prosperity depend on a healthy environment in which biodiversity is conserved, ecosystems thrive, and nature is protected and restored, leading to increased resilience to climate change, weather- and climate-related disasters and other environmental risks. Ensuring effective climate and biodiversity mainstreaming and proofing of the Union budget, as well as consistency between climate and biodiversity funding, are identified as key enabling conditions for attaining the EGD's priority objectives.

The below sections in separate pages describe the linkages between EU policies on biodiversity, climate change and energy. Click on the section title to access the page:

Climate and energy in EU biodiversity policy
This section describes the inclusion of climate change in EU biodiversity-related policies, in particular the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030.

Biodiversity in EU climate policy
This section describes the inclusion of biodiversity in EU climate change policies, in particular the climate law, the climate pact and the climate change adaptation strategy.

Biodiversity in EU energy policy 
This section emphasises the importance of incorporating biodiversity-related concerns in EU energy policies.

POTENTIAL CHALLENGES FOR BIODIVERSITY IN EU CLIMATE AND ENERGY POLICIES
Renewable energy (bioenergy, hydropower, solar, wind, etc) expansion presents potential trade-offs for ecosystems and biodiversity if nature conservation concerns are not incorporated from the outset in RE policies. To this end the recast Renewable Energy Directive (REDII) extended sustainability criteria to cover a larger range of biomass, as well as added new criteria for some categories. A further revision of REDII was proposed recently (2021). These issues, as well as the incorporation of nature-conservation concerns in policies relating to other specific RE sources, are discussed in a separate dedicated section on Biodiversity and climate-change mitigation: renewable energy.

It should also be noted that the EU's net emission reduction targets include carbon removal mechanisms to compensate for what are deemed unavoidable emissions in other sectors. This includes the proposal for a raised target for natural carbon removal (to be raised from 225 Mt to 310 Mt by 2030) by restoring Europe’s forests, soils, wetlands and peatlands. A quick and cheap solution with co-benefits for biodiversity if implemented correctly, it could backfire if prioritising rapid carbon sequestration leads to plantations of monocultures or fast-growing species that interfere with local ecosystems. Net emissions reduction also includes negative emission technologies (NETs) involving carbon capture and storage. Here too prioritising rapid carbon sequestration could occur at the expense of nature and biodiversity.

It is thus of paramount importance for successfully delivering the EGD that an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation and climate change be deployed from the outset. The below sections in separate pages are dedicated to addressing these issues, along with the relevant EU policies and strategies. Click on the section title to access the page:

Nature-based solutions for biodiversity and climate
This section describes how nature-based solutions (NBS) can optimise the strong synergies between addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as the relevant EU policies.

Biodiversity and climate-change mitigation: renewable energy
This section describes the challenges that renewable energy production and expansion can pose for biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as the relevant EU policies.

Biodiversity and climate-change mitigation: geoengineering and negative-emission technologies 
This section describes the potential impacts of deploying geoengineering and negative-emission technologies on biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as the relevant EU policies.

KEY EU LEGAL INSTRUMENTS RELEVANT FOR BIODIVERSITY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY
EU Strategies, Directives, Communications and other legal instruments relevant for biodiversity, climate change and energy, which have been cited in the above text on policies (including the dedicated sections on separate pages), are listed on this separate page.