European Green Deal

The European Green Deal is the European Union's overarching growth strategy, launched by the European Commission in December 2019, with the goal of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is not a single law but a package of policies, targets and regulations that aim to cut greenhouse gas emissions, protect nature, and modernise the economy while keeping the transition socially fair.

Legally binding targets

The Green Deal's headline goals are anchored in the European Climate Law, which makes them legally binding rather than political aspirations:

• Climate neutrality by 2050: net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the EU.
• 2030 target: cut net emissions by at least 55% compared with 1990 levels (the basis of the Fit for 55 package).
• 2040 target: an intermediate milestone of a 90% net reduction versus 1990, added to the Climate Law by an amendment that the Council gave its final approval to on 5 March 2026.

Main areas of action

The Green Deal works through a broad set of strategies and instruments, including:

• Clean energy and efficiency: scaling up renewable energy and improving energy efficiency across all sectors.
• Carbon pricing: strengthening the EU Emissions Trading System and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), whose definitive regime has been running since 1 January 2026, to prevent carbon leakage.
• Circular economy: promoting reuse, repair and recycling through the circular economy action plan and product rules.
• Biodiversity and food: restoring ecosystems and moving towards more sustainable food systems.
• A just transition: supporting the regions, workers and sectors most affected by decarbonisation.

From Green Deal to Clean Industrial Deal

Since 2025 the strategy has evolved towards competitiveness. In February 2025 the Commission presented the Clean Industrial Deal, a roadmap that links decarbonisation with industrial competitiveness, affordable energy and resilient supply chains.

In parallel, the Omnibus simplification packages have streamlined and rephased several sustainability rules while keeping the 2050 neutrality goal intact. Directive (EU) 2026/470, in force since 18 March 2026, raised the thresholds of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) so that it now applies only to companies above both 1,000 employees and 450 million euros in net turnover, with first reports covering financial years starting on or after 1 January 2027. The same directive trimmed the CSDDD, raising its thresholds to 1.5 billion euros of turnover and 5,000 employees, pushing uniform application to 26 July 2029 and removing the obligation to adopt and implement a climate transition plan. The revised ESRS were adopted on 3 July 2026.

What it means for your business

The Green Deal directly affects companies, because many of its instruments translate into concrete obligations and opportunities:

• Measuring emissions: organisations increasingly need to quantify their carbon footprint using methodologies aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
• Reporting: large companies disclose their environmental impact under EU sustainability reporting rules.
• Access to finance and markets: sustainable finance rules and green public procurement reward low-carbon products and credible decarbonisation plans.

At Manglai we help companies measure their carbon footprint and prepare the sustainability reporting that the European Green Deal increasingly requires. Discover how Manglai can help you.