From sectoral silos to policy coherence: Biodiversity integration in EU land-use and climate policies

The European Green Deal seeks to embed biodiversity across EU sectoral policies, yet land-use decisions continue to reveal incoherences between ambition and implementation. We assess the degree of biodiversity integration in EU agriculture, forestry, climate, and energy policies using a structured document analysis (objectives–instruments–implementation), an interaction scoring scheme (−1 to +1), an expert workshop with 25 specialists, and three illustrative cases—a wetland restoration area in Romania, renewable-energy expansion in Poland, and forest management in Finland. Results show that forestry and biodiversity strategies are broadly synergistic on paper, especially regarding governance and monitoring, but effectiveness is limited by national economic priorities and non-binding EU competences. Agricultural policies (CAP, Farm to Fork) display target-level synergies yet remain undermined by subsidies and market incentives that promote intensification. Climate and energy measures, while aligned on nature-based adaptation, often generate trade-offs—biomass use, hydropower, and poorly sited solar or wind projects—when biodiversity safeguards are missing. To strengthen policy coherence, we recommend an integrated approach that redirects environmentally harmful subsidies toward measurable habitat outcomes, embeds biodiversity criteria into renewable-energy siting and land-use planning, harmonizes assessment and monitoring tools, and establishes cross-sectoral governance mechanisms—such as a binding coherence test and coordinated data exchange through the forthcoming EU Science Service for Biodiversity. Such measures would align sectoral incentives with ecological objectives, reduce implementation gaps between EU and local levels, and ensure that biodiversity becomes a structural component of Europe’s sustainable land-use transition.