This study compiles and summarizes the existing knowledge about observed and projected impacts of climate change on European forests. Forests will need to adapt to changes in mean climate variables and increased variability, including extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, storms, and floods. The study reviews sensitivity, potential impacts, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability to climate change for European forests, focusing on the Boreal, Temperate Oceanic, Temperate Continental, Mediterranean, and mountainous regions. In northern and western Europe, increasing atmospheric CO₂ content and warmer temperatures are expected to positively impact forest growth and wood production in the short to medium term. However, increasing drought and disturbance risks will cause adverse effects, particularly in southern and eastern Europe. Adaptive capacity consists of the inherent adaptive capacity of trees and forest ecosystems and socio-economic factors that determine the capability to implement planned adaptation measures. The inherent adaptive capacity is relatively high in the Boreal and Temperate Oceanic regions, more constrained by socio-economic factors in the Temperate Continental region, and limited in the Mediterranean region. The study highlights the need for interdisciplinary research, integrated with monitoring networks and projection models, to provide information at all levels of decision-making.This study compiles and summarizes the existing knowledge about observed and projected impacts of climate change on European forests. Forests will need to adapt to changes in mean climate variables and increased variability, including extreme weather events such as prolonged droughts, storms, and floods. The study reviews sensitivity, potential impacts, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability to climate change for European forests, focusing on the Boreal, Temperate Oceanic, Temperate Continental, Mediterranean, and mountainous regions. In northern and western Europe, increasing atmospheric CO₂ content and warmer temperatures are expected to positively impact forest growth and wood production in the short to medium term. However, increasing drought and disturbance risks will cause adverse effects, particularly in southern and eastern Europe. Adaptive capacity consists of the inherent adaptive capacity of trees and forest ecosystems and socio-economic factors that determine the capability to implement planned adaptation measures. The inherent adaptive capacity is relatively high in the Boreal and Temperate Oceanic regions, more constrained by socio-economic factors in the Temperate Continental region, and limited in the Mediterranean region. The study highlights the need for interdisciplinary research, integrated with monitoring networks and projection models, to provide information at all levels of decision-making.