Abstract Mitigation of climate change requires comprehensive policy arrangements. This article applies a systematic analysis framework comprising ‘vertical policy hierarchy—horizontal policy path—policy instruments’ with Germany, France, and the Netherlands as study cases, and first-hand policy and data from government websites collected, clustered, and matched. The study conducts a comparative analysis of the three countries’ systems, pathways, instruments, and their effectiveness in climate change mitigation. The findings indicate that, firstly, all three countries have relatively well-developed policy systems (laws, regulations, strategies, plans, and policy instruments) based on the six vertical policy hierarchy defined by government governance structure. Secondly, the three countries exhibit commonalities and disparities in seven sectors: energy, transport, buildings, industry, agriculture, forest, and waste. The commonalities stem from EU laws and directives, while disparities arise from resource endowments and emission structures. Thirdly, regarding policy instruments, the commonalities among the three countries are reflected in the dominance of Financial/Fiscal Mechanisms as the primary approach, the leadership position of Governance Mechanisms, the comprehensive coverage of Regulatory Reform, and the massive expenditure in the Direct investment. Individually, (1) the German Regulatory Reform primarily addresses energy resource transformation; France focuses on controlling the transport sector emissions; while the Netherlands commits to renewable energy generation. (2) Germany leads in terms of Commercialization Mechanisms. (3) Financial/Fiscal Mechanisms encompass all sectors, while Germany examplifies the transportation sector digitization, France’s provision of ecological housing loans, and the Netherlands’ support for sustainable agriculture. (4) France distinguishes itself with a forward-thinking approach towards Governance Mechanism including climate financial risks, ESG (Environmental, Social, and ...