EU invests over €380 million in 133 new LIFE projects to support the green transition all around Europe

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission has granted today more than €380 million to 133 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action. The allocated amount represents more than half of the €574 million total investment needs for these projects – the remainder coming from national, regional and local governments, public-private partnerships, businesses, and civil society organisations.

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 and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, while ensuring Europe’s long-term prosperity. This investment will have a lasting impact on our environment, the economy and the well-being of all Europeans. The projects will cover all areas of the LIFE programme, mobilising:

• €143 million (of which the EU will provide €74 million) to contribute to circular economy and improving quality of life, with 26 projects reducing water use, industrial and household waste, air and noise pollution, as well as making the business case for reducing, reusing and recycling;
•  close to €216 million (€144.5 million EU contribution)for nature and biodiversity projects to restore freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and habitats; and improve the conservation status of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals;
• some €110 million (nearly €62 million EU contribution) for climate resilience, climate mitigation and governance and information;
• €105 million (€99 million EU contribution) for governance and market solutions to accelerate the clean energy transition.

Examples of projects supporting sustainability, innovation and quality of life

Among the 26 projects selected to promote a more circular economy and quality of life, the €7.5 million project LIFE GRAPhiREC aims at recycling graphite from battery waste in Italy. It is projected to generate €23.4 million in revenue and save €25 million in production costs. The Spanish project LIFE POLITEX will invest €5 million in reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry by converting textile waste back into new textiles. The €9.8 million DESALIFE project from the Canary Islands aims to support water resilience by producing fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean. Off-shore wave-powered buoys deployed off the Canary Islands will pump 1.7 billion litres of desalinated freshwater to shore.

25 projects will support nature and biodiversityin a wide range of areas. Two projects, LIFE4AquaticWarbler and LIFE AWOM, involve Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, as well as Ukraine and Senegal, with a combined budget of nearly €24 million to save the rare aquatic warbler bird, in line with the  EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Another example is  Biodiverse City LIFE, a €3.6 million project in Budapest to promote the ‘peaceful coexistence of nature and the urban lifestyle’.

IMAGE LIFE and LIFE VINOSHIELD are part of the 23 climate change resilience and mitigation projects announced today. With a combined budget of €6.8 million, the projects taking place in Spain, France and Italy will help world-renowned vineyards and the production of famous cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Camembert de Normandie, and Roquefort to become more resilient to the impact of extreme weather events. The projects showcase responses on how best Europe’s wider agricultural industry can adapt to climate change and water scarcity. Equally important is the €6.9 million LIFE BLUE 420 kV GIS project, taking place in Belgium, led by Siemens to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electrical circuit breakers.

To ensure a clean energy transition, as part of the 59 new projects announced today, LIFE DiVirtue, a three-year, €1.25 million digital training scheme will build capacity for a more efficient and innovative building and construction industry sector. The project notably uses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to help construction students and professionals deliver zero-emission buildings and renovations across Bulgaria, Czechia, Greece, Croatia and Romania. Meanwhile, with almost € 10 million, the ENERCOM FACILITY project will provide direct grants to 140 emerging energy communities across Europe to trigger investments in sustainable energy. It will further support energy communities in developing their business models through trainings and capacity building material, paving the way for replicable business models with long-term sustainability.

Background

Over its 32 years of existence, the LIFE Programme has co-financed more than 6,000 environmental and climate action projects across the EU and associated countries. The 133 projects announced today were selected from more than 653 applications submitted under the LIFE 2023 call for proposals.

The Commission has increased funding for the LIFE Programme by almost 60% for the 2021 – 2027 period, now standing at more than €5.43 billion. The grants financed under the LIFE Programme are managed by CINEA, the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.