European Green Deal Analysis
The Green Deal is the European Strategy to bring the United Nations “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDG´s) into life. With its holistic approach, it is a worldwide regulatory concept that includes all areas of action that fall within the competence of the European Union. The vision of the Green Deal is to create a resource-conserving, non-toxic, climate-neutral Circular Economy not only in Europe, but also along the value chains abroad, at least insofar as these supply goods to the EU. In the years from 2019 to 2024, the European Commission, the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament launched a large number of initiatives and finalised most of them.
A well-known example in the industrial sector is the "EU Taxonomy" published in 2020. It is a classification scheme for economic activities to assess their environmental performance. The taxonomy aims to prevent greenwashing and help investors make sustainable investment decisions. The "Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive" helps companies to consider the resilience of their business models in terms of the Sustainable Development transitions and align their strategies towards the business opportunities offered under the Green Deal. Another big step, indeed a cornerstone was made in 2024, when the new Ecodesign-Regulation was adopted. It formulates far reaching requirements for all sorts of products aiming to prolong the use phase of the articles and its components as far as reasonable possible.
The complexity of the Green Deal hampers a clear understanding of how its policies create impact – from short-term to long-term – and which actors along the multiple supply chains and value networks need to provide which behavioural (change) contributions in this respect. Comprehending the Green Deal starts with a proper mapping of its relevant elements and the links that exist between them.
In this respect, the research group sofia developed, i.a. within a project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research an interactive map (see below). The aim the interactive map is to provide an overview and in-depth understanding of the different initiatives and regulatory processes. The interactive map entails several levels of detail. The first level provides a general overview highlighting the significance and impact of the Green Deal policies. The next levels unfold the details in a stepwise approach.
Click on the button to go to the comprehensive overview of the European Green Deal.
If you want to know more about the background of the European Green Deal policies and what you will find on the platform, the information below will provide the questions to your answers.
For a better orientation in the overview, we recommend reading introduction in the overview before starting.
What is the background of the Green Deal policies?
The European Green Deal is the comprehensive strategy initiated by the European Commission to align the EU with the United Nation’s response to the global challenges under the title: “Transforming our World – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” spelt out in the 17 SDG´s. The vision is transforming the EU´s economy for a sustainable future and the EU as a global leader. The aim of the vision is a resource-preserving, toxic-free and climate-neutral Europe in 2050.
For the vision of a resource-conserving EU, it is important to decouple economic growth from resources and shift the linear economy to a circular economy.[1] To this end, the EU published a new Circular Economy Action Plan. In a statement, the EU Parliament describes the new Action Plan: “Unlike the 2015 plan, which focused on product recyclability, the new Action Plan prioritizes preventive measures, particularly in waste prevention and management.“[2]
For the EU, climate-neutral means that the “decarbonisation objectives, emissions must be reduced in all sectors, from industry and energy, to transport and farming. Climate change is a global threat and can only be addressed by a global response.“[3] Two milestones fort he EU are the reduction target of 55% for the year 2030, compared to the level of 1990 and the 90% reduction for the year 2040.[4]Creating a toxic-free environment requires preventing and remedying pollution. The EU must enhance monitoring, reporting, and prevention of pollution in air, water, soil, and products.[5] To achieve this target the Commission adopted in May 2021 a Zero Pollution Action Plan for air, water, and soil.[6]
The Green Deal outlines a strategy “that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 […] while “it also aims to protect, conserve and enhance the EU's natural capital, and protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment-related risks and impacts.“[7]
In a global perspective the Green Deal also supports the autarky of the EU. The Green Deal states that “ The EU must be at the forefront of coordinating international efforts towards building a coherent financial system that supports sustainable solutions. This upfront investment is also an opportunity to put Europe firmly on a new path of sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Green Deal will accelerate and underpin the transition needed in all sectors.“[8]
Links:
- Website: The European Commission about the Green Deal
- Communication Document: Green Deal
- Factsheet: EU as a global leader
- Factsheets: European Green Deal
[1] The Green Deal (2019), p. 7. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
[2] European Parliament (2021). Explanatory Statement. Link: REPORT on the New Circular Economy Action Plan | A9-0008/2021 | European Parliament (europa.eu)
[3] Climate action and the Green Deal (2019). Link: Climate action and the Green Deal (europa.eu)
[4]Climate action and the Green Deal (2019). Link: Climate action and the Green Deal (europa.eu)
[5]The Green Deal (2019), p. 14. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
[6] Press Release (2021). European Green Deal: Commission aims for zero pollution in air, water and soil. Link: Commission aims for zero pollution in air, water and soil (europa.eu)
[7] The Green Deal (2019), p. 2. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
[8]The Green Deal (2019), p. 2. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
The Green Deal is called a deal because it is a comprehensive political agreement and strategy negotiated and agreed between European legislative bodies, governments and economic actors. It is an informal contract on common goals and measures to overcome the global challenges like climate change or novel entities. Everyone is affected, has to act and can benefit from it. In 2019 the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the Commission to ensure that the Green Deal is based on a multi-level governance framework. The CoR emphasizes that for a successful transformation, bottom-up and top-down engagement is crucial.[1] The European Pillar of Social Rights will guide action in ensuring that “no one is left behind” and ensures intragenerational justice and intergenerational equity.[2]
[1] Resolutions of the CoR (2020). Link: Resolution of the European Committee of the Regions - The Green Deal in partnership with local and regional authorities (europa.eu)
[2]The Green Deal (2019).Page 4. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
The Green Deal is based on scientifically sound findings, such as the special report on the impact of global warming from the IPCC in 2019. “The atmosphere is warming and the climate is changing with each passing year. One million of the eight million species on the planet are at risk of being lost.“[1] The Climate change is one of the nine planetary boundaries which are crucial in order to maintain a safe operating space for humanity. [2] In a review by the Stockholm Resilience Center, four out of nine borders were crossed in 2015, and the trend is rising. [3] A review from 2023 shows that six out of nine borders were crossed. The drivers of this are global and are not limited by national borders. .So the Green Deal addresses this challenge. It is written that “the Green Deal also aims to protect, conserve and enhance the EU's natural capital[…].The EU can use its influence, expertise and financial resources to mobilise its neighbours and partners to join it on a sustainable path “[4]
The Green Deal puts sustainability and the well-being of citizens at the centre of economic policy by integrating the United Nations’ SDG´s into the EU’s politic agenda.
[1]The Green Deal (2019). p. 2. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)
[2]Stockholm Resilience Cente (2023). Link: Rockström - Stockholm Resilience Centre
[3] Stockholm Resilience Cente (2023). Link: Planetary boundaries - Stockholm Resilience Centre
[4]The Green Deal (2019).p. 2. Link: resource.html (europa.eu)

The Green Deal aims at transforming the EU´s economy for a sustainable future. To this end it formulates ten action areas. They comprise leave no one behind, smart mobility, food system, biodiversity, toxic-free environment, climate ambition, clean energy, clean and circular economy, building and renovating and financing the transition. Figure 1 visualizes the ten action areas. They are strongly interlinked; the Green Deal concept aims to ensure that they reinforce each other.
Link:
Website: The European Commission about the Green Deal
There are no comparable programs in the world that are as comprehensive and ambitious. The EU is thus taking on an important pioneering role. Anu Bradford describes the importance of the EU in a global context in her book "The Brussels Effect". She argues that the EU continues to have an impact far beyond the EU territory. “The EU today promagulates regulations that influence which products are built and how business is conducted, not just in Europe but everywhere in the world. In this way, the EU wields significant, unique, and highly penetrating power to unilaterally transform global markets, be it through its ability to set the standards in competition policy, environmental protection, food safety [….]the EU is, and is likely to remain, a major force in the global economy for a long time to come.”[1]
The Green Deal is a long-term EU strategy with targets for 2050 and milestones for 2030. As part of the Green Deal, the EU adopts many directives and regulations that have a global impact following the “Brussel Effect”. The scale of the Green Deal is reflected in its funding The EU is mobilizing at least €1 trillion of investment over ten years from the public and private sector all over the EU.[2]
Links:
- Factsheet: Investing in a climate-neutral and circular economy
- Factsheet: The Just Transition Mechanism
- Document: EU Funded Project to Green the Economy
- Website: The Brussels Effect
[1] Anu Bradford (2020). The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World. p. xiv. Oxford University Press, New York.
[2] Investing in a Climate-Neutral and Circular Economy (2020). Link: Investing in a climate-neutral and circular economy (europa.eu)
What can I find on this platform?
The following interactive map is an innovative visual structuring of the concrete action areas and provides an overview of the European Green Deal. The action areas with the strategies and resulting legislation are built from the Green Deal and the Annex of the Green Deal. The action areas not only cover implementation areas such as mobility or energy, but also consider the framework conditions at a strategic level for achieving the goals.
The focus for the deeper insights into the Green Deal arose from the perspective of SDG 12, i.e. the question of how industrial production and consumption patterns can be driven more towards sustainable development in order to make them compatibel with the vision of the Green Deal or to make the vision achievable. A closer look at agriculture was excluded due to a lack of resources and expertise.

The following map of the Green Deal provides four levels. The "big-picture" shows the ten action areas with all the policies, initiatives and legislations. It clearly demonstrate the complexity and wideness of the European Green Deal in its entirety. The "overview" is a slimmed-down version without in-depth insight into the individual areas. It shows the ten action areas with its most relevant strategies or action plans. For a deeper insight into the areas, the "detailed views" follow on the next level. Each action area is shown in a separate detail view. Here the strategies, action plans and legislative initiatives of the EU are visualised. At the lowest level, the "deep dive" explains central regulations or directives of the Green Deal.

One of the key benefits of the interactive map is its integration of linked information pertaining to various aspects of the entire Green Deal, such as key issue papers, draft laws and legislative texts. This feature allows users to easily access comprehensive and organized details by simply clicking on specific elements, thereby streamlining access to valuable information resources.
Your feedback on any aspect, particularly regarding more current information, would be greatly appreciated. If you have any additions or comments or discover any errors, please contact us at greendeal@sofia-darmstadt.de
Last update: 16.07.2024