The European Green Deal was once the continent’s grand consensus for a sustainable future. Now, it is under pressure. What was once envisioned as a transformative roadmap to reshape Europe’s economy around climate neutrality is being tested by shifting political priorities, growing political fragmentation and a deliberate pushback from conservative forces.
But the science leaves no room for hesitation. According to the European Environment Agency’s Europe’s Environment and Climate 2025 report, the continent is warming twice as fast as the global average.
Europe’s ecosystems are under unprecedented stress. Eighty percent of protected habitats remain in poor condition, 60 to 70% of soils are degraded and water stress affects 30% of the territory, as well as over one-third of the population. Climate-related disasters have already claimed over 240,000 lives since 1980 and cost the EU nearly €740 billion in damages. These are not distant projections; they are today’s headlines.
Political pushback as climate warnings intensify
Yet instead of accelerating the transition, parts of Europe are slowing down. Across the political spectrum, a conservative counter-reaction is taking shape, portraying green policies as burdens rather than opportunities.
This narrative misses a crucial fact: climate ambition and economic progress can reinforce each other. Spain, for example, where investment in renewable energy and electrification has surged, is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the EU.
Still, the political arithmetic in Brussels has changed. A more conservative European Parliament will influence the level of environmental and climate ambition in the years ahead, testing the resilience of the Green Deal’s legislative core. Much of the framework, including the Fit for 55 package, is already in place, but its implementation will determine whether Europe leads or falls behind in the race for a liveable planet. Simplifying regulation must not become a euphemism for dismantling environmental ambition.
The revision of the European Climate Law is also underway, aiming to set a 2040 emissions reduction target. The science is clear: to stay aligned with the Paris Agreement, Europe must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 to 95% compared to 1990 levels. But in the coming months, debate around the climate law will show whether Europe still believes in the Green Deal as its defining project, or whether short-termism will prevail.
Keeping the Green Deal’s vision alive through reform
The Green Deal was never just about emissions. It was a vision for a fairer, more resilient and sovereign Europe, one less dependent on imported fossil fuels and more capable of shaping its own economic destiny. As former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi noted in his 2024 report, competitiveness and sustainability must go hand in hand if Europe wants to remain relevant in a decarbonising world.
Next-Generation EU funds have catalysed green investment, but temporary stimuli will not sustain a generational transformation. What Europe now needs is structural reform: embedding climate action into the EU’s long-term budget, reforming fiscal rules to enable green investment and designing fair taxation systems that reward cleaner production.
The Green Deal is not turning grey because it has failed. It is turning grey because some seek to weaken its ambition. Our task is to restore its colour, its vision, its urgency and its hope. Because, in truth, the question is not whether the Green Deal is turning grey, but whether we understand that without the Green Deal, our future is dark.
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