The 4th Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Reykjavík on 16-17 May 2023, adopted the Reykjavík Declaration including the Appendix V on "The Council of Europe and the environment", and underlined “the urgency of additional efforts to protect the environment, as well as to counter the impact of the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity on human rights, democracy and the rule of law”, while committing the Council of Europe to strengthening its work “on the human rights aspects of the environment and initiate the Reykjavík process of focusing and strengthening the work of the Council of Europe in this field”.

The Reykjavík process gathered steam in 2023 throughout the organisation, culminating in the creation of a Department on the Reykjavík process and the Environment in the Directorate General on Human Rights and Rule of Law on 1 January 2024, as well as an Inter-Secretariat Task Force on the Environment which will develop a Strategy and an Action Plan on the Council of Europe and the Environment, in liaison with member States.

The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) promotes harmonised national policies and guidance for the conservation and the sustainable management of wild species and their habitats, including on land. It facilitates regional cooperation on conservation issues in Europe, through the wide-ranging participation of national, regional and local authorities, stakeholders, NGOs and civil society.

The Bern Convention is considered a privileged regional platform at European level for supporting the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which also strongly contributes to the achievement of Goal 15.

The Bern Convention has its own monitoring and standard-setting systems, including a complaint system, and is also recognised for its role in helping align nature conservation standards at the level of the European continent.

The European Landscape Convention states that “landscape planning” means strong forward-looking action to enhance, restore or create landscapes. It involves framing proper planning projects, more particularly in those most affected by change and badly damaged areas (for example suburbs, peri-urban and industrial areas, coastal areas). Presentation of national and regional reports on the implementation of the European Landscape Convention by the States Parties to the Convention within the framework of the Council of Europe Information System on the Convention, set up under Recommendation CM / Rec (2013) 4 of the Committee of Ministers to member States.

In 2021, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted Resolution 2400 (2021) Combating inequalities in the right to a safe, healthy and clean environment, following a report prepared by the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination.