LIFE: more than €290 million FOR EU funding projects in the field of natural, environmental and climate action
The Commission has today approved an investment package more than Eur 290 million in the amount intended for 132 for new environmental and climate action THE LIFE Programme for projects. This EU funding will mobilise investment in total Eur 562 million and projects will be implemented in almost all Member States. The new LIFE projects will help Europe to become a climate-neutral part of the world by 2050, until 2030 that Europe's biodiversity starts to recover and will contribute to: EU Green Recovery after Covid-19. This is the first set of projects selected in the new 2021-2027 programming period, with funding increased by almost 60 %.
President-in-Office of the Council on European Green Rate Frans Timmermans:
Climate and biodiversity crises are truly existential crises and we must not lose time. AT the Glasgow MEETING, IT was acknowledged that our actions in this decade need to be accelerated. With the European Green course, the European Union is working to reduce emissions, restore nature and ensure the sustainable use of resources. We can only succeed if we cooperate in different sectors. LIFE projects are an excellent example: they combine citizens, public bodies, industry and NGOs with a view to working for climate and the environment.
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginia Mucovich:
The interconnected climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution crises are the problems inherent in our era. In order to address them, we must fundamentally reform our society and the economy, achieve a carbon neutral future and learn from the available planet resources. “LIFE” projects show how this can be done. They have a great practical impact and demonstrate the added value of European cooperation.
In this new package, approximately €223 million is foreseen by the Commission environmental and resource efficiency, natural and biodiversity and environmental management and information projects. In addition, more than 70 million euros are invested in various climate change mitigation, climate adaptation and management and information in projects.
Examples of projects from across Europe
A large transnational project will restore degraded peat in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland. The activities envisaged include the restoration of the function of the peat-filled carbon sink which will contribute to the achievement OF THE EU objective: to become climate-neutral by 2050. The project will also increase the level of groundwater and help to preserve species and habitats protected under THE EU Putnu the Directive and Habitats the Directive.
In another project, the Italian cheff with consumers, employees and other persons will promote climate-friendly, nutritional and affordable nutrition, which reduces food waste, for awareness-raising, communication and education campaigns. This project contributes, inter alia, to “From field to table”, Circular Economy Action Plan and Waste Framework Directives in implementation.
The Bulgarian project team will protect the population of nesting, wintering and migratory birds by reducing the mortality of the birds caused by electricity infrastructure. It will identify the most risky medium-voltage power lines and, in the most important stages, the overhead power lines will be replaced by underground cables. This project contributes to EU Birds Directives on-the-spot implementation.
The Polish project will show how renewable energy can be used for the cooling of public buildings and the French project will create an innovative system designed to optimise the use of resources and recover resources from waste resulting from local construction and public works. Both projects support the start of last October EU renovation wave initiative.