EU Projects Present Forest Policy Pathways for 2050 Goals

Three EU-funded research projects, ForestNavigator, ForestPaths, and PathFinder, have developed distinct policy pathways designed to help Europe’s forests meet the continent’s ambitious climate and biodiversity targets for 2050. These initiatives, which have been conducting research for more than four years under the EU Horizon Europe programme, are set to present their findings in a dedicated webinar session. The central objective of this collaborative effort is to identify the specific management and policy shifts required to align forest ecosystems with the goals established in the EU Green Deal, while simultaneously ensuring long-term socioeconomic sustainability.

The upcoming presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, 17 November 2026, and will be conducted as an online session from 10:00 to 12:15 CET. This event serves as the fourth edition of the Forest Talks webinar series, a joint initiative organized by the three research projects to explore synergies and share findings from their respective studies. The session is chaired by Robert Mavsar, Director of the European Forest Institute.

A key feature of the webinar is the participation of Frans Timmermans, who is identified as the principal architect of the EU Green Deal. Timmermans, who has served as the former Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, EU Climate Chief, and Dutch Foreign Minister, will deliver a keynote address.

The ForestPaths project, coordinated by Hans Verkerk of the European Forest Institute, will focus on sharing specific visions and policy pathways for European forests leading up to 2050. This presentation will include the project's main findings and conclusions.

Meanwhile, the ForestNavigator project will describe four policy-relevant storylines. Presented by project co-coordinator Fulvio Di Fulvio from IIASA and Julia Bognar from IEEP, this segment will detail the results regarding synergies, trade-offs, and uncertainties inherent in forest policy. The project will also present policy recommendations.

The PathFinder project will introduce an integrative framework for developing sustainable transition pathways, using Spain as a specific case study. This presentation, led by Daniel Di Marzo from the University of Freiburg, will introduce the framework with an example for Spain.

The research behind these presentations is based on more than four years of work funded through the EU Horizon Europe programme. Results from the three projects show the diverse and complementary pathways taken by each project.

Interactive engagement is a central component of the webinar, with a 30-minute segment dedicated to audience participation. During this time, participants will use live polling to explore their own views on the actions identified by the three projects. This interactive element allows the audience to reflect on the proposed measures for achieving climate and biodiversity targets while ensuring socioeconomic sustainability. Participants will help shape the conclusions.

The Forest Talks webinar series concludes in December with the final edition. The series has served as a platform for the three projects to share their findings and explore the synergies between their work.

Subject of Research: Forest policy pathways for EU 2050 climate and biodiversity goals

Article Title: Join Frans Timmermans and EU researchers to explore how Europe’s forests can meet 2050 goals

Article References: Join Frans Timmermans and EU researchers to explore how Europe’s forests can meet 2050 goals. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: EU Green Deal, Forest Policy, Biodiversity, Climate Goals, ForestNavigator, ForestPaths, PathFinder, Sustainability, Horizon Europe, Webinar, Join, Frans