This article examines the European environmental strategy and, in particular, the nature of a European ecological citizenship. It argues that the European environmental strategy, despite its importance, is mainly based on a model of nature management, giving citizens a central role in this management. The current legal-political framework does not demonstrate a new paradigm of ‘planetary consciousness’ capable of guaranteeing real change. The argument is structured in four parts: firstly, the concepts of the Anthropocene, Capitalocene and the Green Arithmetic paradigm are examined, emphasising the framework of the European environmental strategy and the role of the European citizen in it. It then looks at the efforts, and underlying assumptions, to ‘save the planet’ at international and European level in search of evidence of a ‘planetary consciousness’. The third part uses a particular reading of the European legal-political framework, especially the European Green Deal, to critically analyse the role of the citizen as the driving force behind this change. Finally, we summarise the main conclusions and reflect on the EU’s response to the climate challenge, in the light of the trends identified and the urgency of finding a new paradigm suitable for a real change in thinking. This article makes a theoretical contribution by interpreting the European strategy, and in particular European ecological citizenship through the Green Arithmetic model, and neoliberal management. It also makes an empirical contribution by highlighting how European citizenship is understood under the terms of the European Green Deal.