Once every four years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gathers global leaders, experts and practitioners to shape the future of nature conservation. The 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress, held in Abu Dhabi from 9-15 October 2025, gathered thousands of participants under the theme “Powering transformative conservation.”

As part of this landmark event, CO-OP4CBD, in collaboration with sister projects BioAgora and RESPIN, successfully hosted a joint session at the IUCN Europe, North and Central Asia (ENCA) Pavilion on 11 October, titled “Bridging Science and Policy: European Action for Biodiversity and Climate Goals.”

The session attracted attention and engagement, highlighting Europe’s growing leadership in strengthening the science-policy interface (SPI) for biodiversity and climate. The discussion focused on how scientific knowledge can better inform policymaking under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the Paris Agreement, while also identifying barriers and levers to cross-sectoral collaboration.

The event featured an impressive panel of experts, including Maja Vasilijević (NINA), Nathalie Morata (FRB), Giacomo Montereale Gavazzi (European Commission - KCBD), Nirmala Séon-Massin (MNHN), Cathy Yitong Li (IUCN Climate Crisis Commission / WCPA Young Professionals Network), and Julie Hammer-Monart (French Ministry of Ecology).

Moderated by representatives from CO-OP4CBD and RESPIN, the session also benefited from insights by Elise Huffer (University of the South Pacific / IUCN CEESP), Mariano Castro Jimenez (UN CBD Secretariat), Gary Tabor (Centre for Large Landscape Conservation / IUCN WCPA), and Olivier Chassot (IUCN Asia Regional Office).

Participants praised the event for fostering open, constructive dialogue among scientists, policy-makers, traditional knowledge holders, and practitioners. The discussion underscored the importance of joint European and global action to improve the uptake of biodiversity knowledge in policymaking and ensure coherent responses to biodiversity and climate challenges.

Institutional support for the session came from NINA, FRB, MNHN, and the IUCN European Regional Office, with additional collaboration from the IUCN Climate Crisis Commission, Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute, Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).

The event was widely recognised as a success for CO-OP4CBD, demonstrating the project’s central role in fostering collaboration and advancing the science-policy dialogue at both European and global levels.

Learn more about the session on the IUCN Congress website here.