The European Commission has approved 171 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for Environment and Climate Action, worth more than 396 million euros. Thanks to the programme’s co-funding requirements, it will mobilise a total investment of more than 722 million euros, which represents a 28,5 per cent 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.
“This year’s LIFE projects are more ambitious than ever,” said Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries. “As we continue to face the climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss crises, the LIFE Programme is a living proof of our commitment to move from ambition to action and create a real difference for EU citizens with projects that will accelerate the green transition, improve our daily lives and preserve our natural ecosystems.”
Among the projects, many are initiated by Central and Eastern European countries. For example, a consortium of nine countries located in just transition regions (Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine) aims at developing models for implementing inclusive and regional clean energy plans.
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.
Greece has recognised that the use of sustainable and innovative means of transportation plays an important role in achieving the EU’s energy and climate objectives, specifically air quality in urban environments. The main objective of this project is to develop an innovative platform for the green delivery of goods. The platform will be designed in competitive terms for SMEs and individuals with the aim of reducing emissions generated by delivery services.
Pushed by the need for change in agriculture, a Lithuanian consortium aims to achieve national and EU climate change mitigation and adaptation targets. Given the importance of the agricultural and forestry sector in the country, it is essential that the EU’s targets are effectively achieved in a timely manner. As part of the objectives, the project team will develop a holistic framework to support the transition towards carbon farming practices.
