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EU Green Policy Tracker

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Last updated on 11 April 2025

Tool contacts

Mikael Allan Mikaelsson / mikael.mikaelsson@sei.orgTimothy Suljada / tim.suljada@sei.org

In 2024, the first European Climate Risk Assessment identified 36 climate risks facing Europe, underpinning the urgent need to implement the ambitious environmental and climate policies under the European Green Deal (EGD). The EGD is guiding the EU’s transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050, supported by a wide range of legislation across various sectors. However, there is a growing need for increased transparency in how these policies are implemented at the national level to ensure their effectiveness.

The EU Green Policy Tracker provides this transparency, offering unique insights into how institutional dynamics in Sweden and Estonia influence the passage of EU environmental and climate legislation into national law. SEI developed the tracker in partnership with Think Sustainable Europe, a pan-European network of sustainability think tanks. The project is funded by the Mistra Foundation.

The EU Green Policy Tracker creates transparency around the status of climate and environmental policy implementation at the member state level. It highlights both enabling and hindering factors that affect progress. Users can explore data and analysis through various entry points – from country snapshots to deep dives into specific policies. Comparative analysis across countries and policies offers valuable insights for national policymakers, oversight mechanisms for EU institutions and rich empirical data for policy analysts and the civil society.

The current prototype tracks the rollout of four selected policies in Sweden and Estonia. Based on this proof of concept, we aim to build a comprehensive tool for implementation transparency covering all 27 EU member states, together with our partners in Think Sustainable Europe.

The four selected policies represent a diverse mix of policy mechanisms and sectors:

The EU Green Policy Tracker provides comparative analysis across countries and policies, offering valuable insights for national policymakers, oversight mechanisms for EU institutions, and rich empirical data for policy analysts and the public.

The Tracker is particularly relevant for the following audiences:

European Commission and Parliament
- For the European Commission and Parliament, the Tracker offers evidence of policy implementation across member states, supporting monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Member states
- For member states, it highlights both progress and challenges in policy implementation, helping identify areas for improvement and guiding future actions.
Research and think tanks
- For researchers and think tanks, the Tracker serves as a freely accessible, robust data resource on EU and member state implementation. The analytical insights derived from this dataset enable the identification of trends and dynamics across countries, allowing policy analysts to anticipate emerging issues and develop more targeted, evidence-based policy recommendations.

The European Green Deal (EGD), adopted in 2019, is a comprehensive policy framework aimed at guiding the EU’s transition to climate-neutral economy by 2050. Since its approval, the EU’s legislative bodies – the European Parliament and the Council – have adopted a wide array of legislation across different sectors under the EGD framework. For the EGD to meet its objectives, the focus must now shift to member states to ensure proper transposition and effective implementation of these legislations and policies at the national level. However, a significant challenge arises from the lack of transparency and comprehensive insight into how member states are progressing in accepting and implementing the EGD.

In response to this challenge, Think Sustainable Europe – a network of sustainability-focused think tanks – proposed the EU Green Policy Tracker. Designed to support national implementation, the tracker guides research and generates actionable insights for EU institutions, member states, businesses and civil society. While the final version will monitor the implementation status of all EGD policies across the 27 EU member states, the current prototype, developed in 2025 by Stockholm Environment Institute, tracks the rollout of four selected policies in Sweden and Estonia.

The EU Green Policy Tracker prototype offers a unique opportunity to monitor and understand how political and social dynamics in Sweden and Estonia influence the incorporation of EU climate legislation into national law. Data on each country’s progress on each policy and overall EGD objectives is presented to help stakeholders compare progress, identify challenges and understand how EU legislation is being implemented on the ground. The four selected policies were chosen to represent a range of policy mechanisms and cover various sectors:

The data presented in the EU Green Policy Tracker was gathered through a combination of desk research on EU legal legislative documents, scientific articles, grey literature, and stakeholder consultations. These consultations were conducted with leading officials from government departments and/or national authorities responsible for coordinating and implementing the relevant European Green Deal (EGD) policies.

Methodology

Explore the methodology behind the tracker here.

Citation

Mikaelsson, M. A., Krustok, I., Tool, B., Kappe, K., & Suljada, T. (2025). EU Green Policy Tracker (Version 01/2025) [Computer software]. SEI. https://eu-green-tracker.sei.org/

Drone view of intricate motorway junction with windmills against a backdrop of green fields.

The EU Green Deal in turbulent times: insights from the EU Green Policy Tracker from Sweden and Estonia

SEI brief / Learn about new findings from SEI's new policy tracking tool and what they mean for progress on the EU Green Deal.

8 April 2025 / About Adaptation, Climate policy, Ecosystems and Mitigation

The EU Green Policy Tracker was proposed by Think Sustainable Europe – a network of sustainability-focused think tanks. The current prototype tracks the rollout of four selected policies in Sweden and Estonia and is developed by Stockholm Environment Institute and funded by the Mistra Foundation. The aim is to further develop the tracker and monitor the implementation status of all EGD policies across the 27 EU member states.