Tackling the climate and biodiversity crises in Europe through Urban Greening Plans

To systematically bring nature back to cities, the EU Biodiversity Strategy calls upon cities with over 20,000 inhabitants to develop Urban Greening Plans (UGP). Nature based solutions (NbS) are at the centre of UGPs, addressing climate resilient infrastructures and biodiversity in cities together. They should agree with existing planning instruments. This paper points towards the need for enabling governance, regulatory and financing frameworks and guidance, accompanying future UGP, leading to five recommendations.