Commission funds 171 new LIFE projects in environment and climate across Europe with over €396 million

The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for Environment and Climate Action, worth more than €396 million. Thanks to the program’s co-funding requirements, it will mobilize a total investment of more than €722 million, which represents a 28,5 % increase compared to last year. Projects from almost all EU countries will benefit from EU support under the following sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and clean energy transition.

LIFE projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal’s broad range of climate, energy, and environmental goals, including the EU’s aim to become climate-neutral by 2050. They support biodiversity and nature restoration, improve the quality of life of Europeans by reducing pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, increase circularity in the economy and climate resilience, and accelerate the transition to clean energy across Europe.

Examples of awarded projects

One of the biggest nature and biodiversity projects involves 13 EU Member States and other European countries tackling fishing bycatch in the North Atlantic, Baltic, and Mediterranean waters. Led by The Netherlands, the project aims to minimize – and where possible eliminate – bycatch in the regions involved in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

To promote a more circular economy and quality of life, one project in Bulgaria will promote sustainable consumption, prevention, and separate collection of waste involving local authorities, businesses, and citizens. The project aims to show how Bulgaria’s traditional landfill dumping can be replaced by new ‘pay as you throw’ door-to-door waste collection and recycling schemes.

Supporting climate mitigation, a French project aims to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of an innovative and cost-efficient photovoltaic system before bringing it to the market. The technology consists of bifacial solar panels that are suspended above unexploited sites such as canals, basins, and reservoirs. This technology will help generate more renewable energy, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce competition for land use.

A new multi-country project will also support the clean energy transition in the HORECA (hotel, restaurant, catering) value chain in seven EU countries. The project aims to train over 500 workers and engage around 10,000 stakeholders in the accommodation and food service industry to save the equivalent energy of 390 million light bulbs a year.

At a glance: new projects under the €396 million of EU funding

Nature and biodiversity

29 nature and biodiversity projects, with a total budget close to €211 million (of which the EU will contribute around €140 million) will restore freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and habitats; improve the conservation status of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals; enhance governance; and support the implementation and compliance with relevant EU legislation such as the Birds and Habitats Directives and the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. By doing so, they will equally contribute to the EU’s implementation of the Kunming/Montreal Global Biodiversity Agreement.

Circular economy and quality of life

LIFE projects will mobilize over €298 million, of which the EU will provide over €94 million to contribute to the circular economy and improve the quality of life.

A total of 36 projects will focus on water use, electrical waste, chemicals, and air, and noise pollution to help improve the quality of life for EU citizens and develop technologies to support the Circular Economy Action Plan.

Furthermore, five projects will enhance environmental governance and information by empowering consumers to live toxic-free lives and making sustainable food choices, and by supporting municipalities to adopt best practices in waste management and to implement the Green City Accord. The EU will contribute around €6 million for a total project budget of nearly €10 million.

Climate change mitigation and adaptation

In total, 34 projects worth about €110 million (in which the EU will provide around EUR 65 million) will contribute to climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and climate governance, and information related to climate change impacts. They will boost the implementation of the European Climate Law and the EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change Strategy by facilitating the shift towards a climate-neutral, sustainable, and resilient European economy.

These projects address, among others, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; carbon removals in agricultural and forest lands; sustainable food systems; renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements; climate-friendly alternatives to fluorinated greenhouse gases; climate adaptation in urban and rural areas, as well as greater preparedness for extreme weather events such as heatwaves and floods.

Clean energy transition

67 projects with a total budget of more than €102 million (of which the EU provides around €97 million) will improve market and regulatory conditions in the EU for the clean energy transition, notably promoting and rolling out energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy solutions.

These projects support the implementation of the energy efficiency and renewable energy policies set out in the REPowerEU plan and the Fit for 55 package, as well as the overarching Energy Union objectives.