Commissioner Sinkevičius speaks up for forests

Tomorrow, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, is participating in two events where he will stress the role of forests in tackling the twin climate and biodiversity crises. At 11:00 CET he will host a virtual citizens’ dialogue with Slovak citizens where he will answer questions by eco-activists, students, green influencers, representatives of NGOs on biodiversity, circular economy, the European Green Deal, climate adaptation and how forests are sustaining healthy ecosystems and helping the regulation of the climate cycle. The Minister of Environment of Slovakia, Ján Budaj will also be part of the citizens’ dialogue. You can join the citizens’ dialogue here, livestreamed in Slovak language. Commissioner Sinkevičius will then around 18:30 CET close the Global Forest Summit – a virtual high-level event organised under the patronage of the President of France, Emmanuel Macron with the motto ‘Protect Faster, Restore Stronger’. The Summit will highlight the role of forests in addressing global warming, reducing CO2 emissions, and preserving our nature ecosystems, acting this way also as a barrier against future pandemics. The Summit will gather high-level speakers such as ministers, CEOs and representatives of United Nations and international nature-focused organisations. In the run-up to COP 15 on Biodiversity, the IUCN World Conservation Congress and COP 26 on Climate, the panelists of the closing session of the Global Forest Summit will discuss the path to follow to definitively make forests one of the priority subjects on the international agenda for the next ten years. You can follow the Commissioner’s speech here. The European Commission is currently preparing its Forest Strategy, part of the new Biodiversity Strategy, and a public consultation is ongoing until 19 April.