Water in the EU Green Deal and recent evolutions in EU water law and policy

Suvi-Tuuli Puharinen

Chapter 4 in Research Handbook on EU Water Law, 2026, pp 36-55 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The EU Green Deal was adopted as a new economic growth strategy for the European Union, which entails overarching and ambitious objectives to address various environmental challenges, including climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and mitigating environmental pollution. This chapter shows that these policy ambitions and the specific legislative initiatives adopted to operationalise them into EU legislation are closely linked to EU water law and have multiple implications for it. While the legislative initiatives pursuing the Green Deal's biodiversity and pollution objectives have aimed to strengthen water protection, new legislation adopted to promote climate objectives, energy security and Europe's strategic autonomy has at the same time undermined water protection controls, especially for new projects. In addition, the Green Deal has sparked the adoption of new kinds of instruments, such as sustainable finance and sustainable corporate governance legislation, which transform and broaden the traditional scope of water law. While the overall implications of the Green Deal on water protection still await proper understanding, it can already be concluded that the Deal has brought about some promise, some weakening and some new opportunities in the EU water acquis.

Keywords: EU Green Deal; Water Framework Directive; Nature Restoration Law; Renewable Energy Directive; Sustainable corporate governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035336425
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