In February 2021, the European Commission published its funding investment of 121 million € funding under the LIFE programme for new integrated projects for the Environment and Climate Action.
The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The long-term EU budget for the period from 2021 to 2027 foresees 5.4 billion € for the LIFE programme, which is an increase of almost 60% compared to the previous funding period.
The results of the last call allocate funding to eleven EU Member States, i.e. Belgium, Germany, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia, to support their green objectives in the field of environment, nature and climate action. These projects shall also help those Member States to boost significant additional EU funding sources, i.e. agricultural structural, regional and research funds, as well as national funds and private sector investment.
Funding is provided for Integrated Projects. These projects support EU Member States to achieve full implementation of their respective national strategies and Action Plans which are in line with the EU environmental and climate legislation. Integrated projects are implemented at national or regional scales involving relevant authorities with a duration of around six to ten years. Overall, integrated projects are designed to comply with key EU legislation in six areas, i.e. nature, water, air, waste, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation.
The following projects summaries outline the rational of the integrated projects aforementioned:
► In the area of Nature Conservation five nature projects in Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany address the restoration of natural ecosystems, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, by improving the management of the Natura 2000 network and better connecting its protected areas. Various habitats and species stand to benefit, including forests, rivers, farmlands, grasslands, peatlands, aquatic species and birds.
► In the area of Water a project in France will introduce measures to improve water quality in the Pays de la Loire region to support the EU Water Framework Directive. Another project will help to clean up Poland’s Pilica river catchment area through blue and green infrastructure pilot actions and other initiatives.
► In the area of Waste Management a Belgian project will reduce plastic waste by encouraging sustainability, from increased product lifetimes to prevention, reuse and recycling of waste to support the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.
► As for climate change mitigation a project aims at reducing Hungary’s reliance on brown coal. LIFE funding will help authorities to gradually decarbonise the Mátra Power Plant, by replacing lignite-fired power generation units with low-carbon technology solutions.
► With regard to climate change adaptation a project will be supported to help Portugal’s Azores islands become more resilient to climate change.
LIFE programme from 2021 and upcoming calls
Details of the next LIFE regulation, multiannual work programme and related calls for proposals, including traditional projects also open for the private sector are still under discussion.
The new LIFE programme will cover the following areas:
├ Nature and biodiversity
├ Circular economy and quality of life
├ Climate change mitigation and adaptation
└ Clean energy transition
THE RESPECTIVE CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN SPRING 2021
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