Go to areas of expertise

Climate, Natural Resources and Environment

Climate, natural resources and the environment are key areas in which to work towards a more sustainable world. In fact, they are framed within Horizon Europe’s Cluster 5, which aims to fight climate change by better understanding its causes, evolution, risks and impacts.

Climate, natural resources and environment objectives

One of the European Union’s maxims is to protect the environment and to try to minimise risks to the climate, human health and biodiversity. In fact, the European Green Pact aims to make Europe the first continent to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.

In December 2022, the European Green Pact achieved two new goals: approving the Social Climate Fund for a fair transition to climate neutrality, and extending the application of emissions trading to new sectors. Achieving a clean and emission-free environment is an ambitious but realistic goal for the European Union. Another important focus is mitigating climate change, through R&D&I actions that work to understand the impacts of climate change, reduce emissions from agricultural practices and increase the capacity of agriculture and ecosystems to adapt to climate change.

This area is of such relevance to the EU that the European Commission has dedicated three of the five missions identified in Horizon Europe to it:

  • Adaptation to climate change, including digital transformation
  • Health of oceans, seas, coastal and inland waters
  • Smart and climate-neutral cities

A more sustainable world

Climate, natural resources and the environment are essential to building a more sustainable world. These areas aim to combat climate change.

Our figures

42%

Success rate in LIFE proposals since 2005

125M€

Return for our clients in European projects

+540

Proposal submitted in european programmes (21-23)

+100

Projects in which we have been or are partners

LIFE programme

LIFE programme,

The importance that the environment has been gaining is reflected exponentially in the increase in LIFE projects. Within the LIFE Programme, considered the star programme in this area, Zabala Innovation has increased the number of proposals both nationally and internationally, obtaining 42% of projects financed out of the 195 proposals submitted.

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument in the fields of environment and climate action. It has been implementing green ideas since 1992 and has so far co-financed more than 5,500 projects across the EU and in third countries. For the period 2021-2027, the European Commission has increased funding by almost 60% to ¤5.4 billion and has included the new Clean Energy Transition sub-programme.

The programme has two main objectives: on the one hand, to develop projects to catalyse the large-scale deployment of successful technical solutions that solve an environmental problem relevant to Europe; and, on the other hand, to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental legislation and policies.

Horizon Europe missions

Their objectives go beyond research and innovation, the Horizon Europe Missions want solutions to improve the lives of Europeans. The first Mission in Horizon Europe programme is Climate Change Adaptation.

To support at least 150 European regions and communities to become climate resilient by 2030. The Mission contributes to a recent area of po- licy formulation, the EU Adaptation Strategy 2021. New impact-oriented approaches to Eu- ropean research and innovation policy in su- pport of the objectives of the European Green Deal. It becomes a key implementation vector of the EU Adaptation Strategy 2021 and will trig- ger coordinated R&I efforts in Horizon Europe.

Climate