Climate change and biodiversity loss are two major and interlinked environmental challenges of our times. Also the European Commission published a proposal for restoration targets. The ClimRest project spans from observations of biogeochemical and biophysical factors to dynamic vegetation and Earth system modeling to quantify the climate impacts of the proposed ecosystem protection and restoration targets, focusing particularly on peatlands and forests. Additionally, we explore the capabilities of dynamic vegetation models and Earth system models in providing quantitative measures of biodiversity. The significance of these advances will be twofold: 1) they help us to understand better the climatic co-benefits from conservation, thereby building a stronger rationale for these actions; and 2) they expand the scope of scientific models to answer a broader set of questions that pertain to the urgent environmental challenges that mankind is facing.

2025

2029