GreenData4All initiative

As of February 5, 2025. The European Commission is holding a public consultation on the GreenData4All initiative – updated rules for environmental spatial data and access to environmental information. GreenData4All aims to make the INSPIRE Directive a more efficient and cost-effective instrument for exchanging environmental data in the context of the European Green Deal common data space.

Public consultation

Until April 30, 2025, anyone can submit comments on the draft proposal for the directive. The European Commission encourages all interested parties to submit opinions, comments or proposals through a questionnaire published on the website. All voices will be taken into account when developing the final form of this initiative.

The overall context of the GreenData4All initiative

Considering that data is needed to make informed and rational decisions, the European Data Strategy announced the development of common European spatial data in key sectors and fields. One of these is the European Green Deal.

The European Green Deal data is intended to allow support for the identification, planning and implementation of actions on climate change, the circular economy, emissions levels, biodiversity or deforestation.

In this context, the GreenData4All initiative aims to update and further develop existing regulations for the sharing of geospatial environmental data to ensure they are consistent with the latest initiatives and regulations, and to facilitate the flow of public sector data into the European Green Deal data space.

As envisioned, digital environmental data is to be available to all interested parties, with control remaining in the hands of the companies and individuals who generate it.

Purpose of the GreenData4All initiative

GreenData4All – the European Commission’s (EC) initiative, announced in its European Data Strategy, to update and review the framework for making environmental data publicly available – aims, among other things, to:

• Making the INSPIRE Directive a more effective and cost-efficient instrument for sharing environmental data, supporting the development and implementation of environmental policy and the transition to a more sustainable economy;
• Enabling greater data sharing between the public and private sectors and with the general public;
• Moving from a vendor-centric approach to a user-centric approach;
• To meet the needs of environmental policy development and implementation and enable data-driven environmental monitoring and reporting; to develop a data-driven green economy;
• Data support for the implementation of priority actions identified in the European Green Deal and related to climate change, a closed-loop economy, emissions levels, biodiversity or deforestation;
• Increasing the benefits of data sharing for innovation that harnesses the potential of data and evidence-based decision-making.

European data strategy

The European Data Strategy outlines the European Union’s ambitions for the coming years. It wants to become a leader in a data-driven world. It focuses on putting people first in technology development and defending and promoting European values and rights in the digital world. Among other things, the strategy promotes the development of the European Green Deal data space in order to provide evidence to support the transition to a carbon-neutral economy by 2050. Accordingly, a large role and importance is indicated in the implementation of the aforementioned goals and the INSPIRE Directive. Improving the operation of the INSPIRE Directive and updating the regulations for sharing environmental data is expected to promote and facilitate the participation of data holders in the European Green Deal space.

The creation of a single data market, which will ensure Europe’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty, is expected to enable the free flow of information between sectors for the benefit of businesses, researchers and public administrations.

INSPIRE Directive

The INSPIRE Directive obliges member state authorities to share spatial data. It enables users to analyze environmental problems not only within a country, but also at the level of the entire European Union.

The INSPIRE Directive is now accompanied by other horizontal and sectoral legislation, such as on open data, high-value collections, their management and intelligent transportation systems.

In order to fully enable the use of resources in the European Green Deal data space, the need to improve the operation of the INSPIRE Directive and adapt its provisions to current digital data requirements is indicated.

The INSPIRE Directive’s provisions for sharing environmental spatial data are assessed to be too prescriptive, too rigid and not based on more recent horizontal legislation. Moreover, they are of limited use in the development and implementation of environmental policy (e.g., impact assessment, monitoring, reporting), as it lacks data describing the state of the environment and the pressures on it. Hence, the need for changes is indicated.

Why you should have access to environmental information

As the EC points out, by updating EU legislation on geospatial environmental data and public access to environmental information, the GreenData4All initiative will contribute to the realization of Europe’s environmental and digital transformation.

The increased availability of environmental information in the European Green Deal data space, according to the EC, will provide greater transparency, which in turn will allow for better recognition of the state of the environment, facilitate the development of green solutions and innovation in the European single data market, and help support the rationalization of reporting requirements through the reuse of previously reported and published data.

In light of the information provided on the EC’s website, the summary report will explain how the opinions and comments made have been taken into account. The EC plans to adopt the initiative in the fourth quarter of 2025.