The Commission granted on Monday more than €380 million to 133 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action.
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.
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. This investment will have a lasting impact on our environment, the economy and the well-being of all Europeans, according to the Commission.
The projects cover all areas of the LIFE programme:
- €143 million to contribute to the circular economy and improving quality of life (reducing water use, industrial and household waste, air and noise pollution, as well as making the business case for reducing, reusing and recycling);
- €216 million fornature and biodiversity projects to restore freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems, and habitats; and improve the conservation status of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals;
- €110 million for climate resilience, climate mitigation and governance and information;
- €105 millionfor governance and market solutions to accelerate the clean energy transition.
The 133 projects announced were selected from more than 653 applications submitted under the LIFE 2023 call for proposals. For the full list of projects by country, click here.
Among the projects selected to promote a more circular economy and quality of life can be mentioned a €7.5 million project which 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.
A Spanish project will invest €5 million in reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry by converting textile waste back into new textiles.
The projects supporting nature and biodiversity cover a wide range of areas. Two projects involving Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, as well as Ukraine and Senegal, with a combined budget of nearly €24 million, aims at saving Europe´s rarest passerine bird, the Aquatic Warbler, a species protected by the EU Birds Directive.
Another example is a €3.6 million project in Budapest to promote the ‘peaceful coexistence of nature and the urban lifestyle'.
The Brussels Times
