Milieu Support project to the 3 Billion Trees Pledge

The EU Forest Strategy for 2030 provides a roadmap to implement the 3 billion additional trees pledge to reverse the current trend of biodiversity loss and climate change.  The pledge aims to double the EU’s forests expansion rate under the business-as-usual scenario, by promoting the planting of 3 billion additional trees by 2030 in three overarching ecosystems: forests, agriculture, and urban areas. This ambitious initiative, requires the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the tree planting process on the ground together with others working at a regional or national level providing the necessary support for the success of this EU pledge.

Thus Milieu is leading an EU-funded project to support the Commission in identifying relevant tree planting initiatives that could be registered to count for the 3 Billion trees pledge, involving relevant stakeholders in the 3 billion trees pledge, providing guidance on funding available to promote tree planting in the EU and understanding the challenges stakeholders face to develop planting trees initiatives in the EU territory. This project is led by Milieu with the involvement of Ecologic Institute and Stritih.

The aim is to achieve positive climate mitigation and adaptation effects and contribute to biodiversity. In addition, the pledge will benefit the economy, create jobs, and improve public health. To maximise benefits for climate and biodiversity, the European Commission will develop guidelines that will cover forestry, agroforestry, trees in agricultural areas, and urban trees. Initiatives that receive EU funding should follow these guidelines. The planting initiatives will need to fulfil a set of criteria that include the principle of additionality, climate and biodiversity objectives, and conditions for native tree species. The additionality principle means that they must be added on top of legal obligations, not be harvested in the coming decades, and follow certain ecological requirements. The strategy was accompanied by a Commission Staff Working Document – SWD (2021) 651 – on the 3 billion trees planting pledge for 2030 which describes the principles and criteria for how trees can be planted to fulfil the pledge’s purpose. Please check the European Commission website to know more about it.