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LIFE 2020: what’s new in the new call

The LIFE Programme, which is the European Union’s financial instrument dedicated exclusively to the environment, has the general objective to promote sustainable development and to achieve objectives and goals of the European Strategy 2020 as well as the Union’s relevant strategies and plans in the area of the environment and climate. It has a budget of 3.4 billion euros for this purpose.

The EASME (Executive Agency for SMEs) has announced the opening of the last call of the current LIFE Programme on April 2nd on the LIFE website with an estimated budget of more than 400 million euros. This programme is divided into 2 sub-programmes: one aimed at the environment which represents 75% of the total funding and another aimed at climate change (with 25% of the budget).

Which projects can benefit from this programme?

Through the programme, more than 100 projects will be financed, dedicated to the search for environmental solutions and technologies, measures to combat climate change, projects for the conservation of nature and biodiversity and initiatives for governance and information on climate and the environment. 

LIFE INFO DAY

In order to inform about this new call and its news, the Commission has created a portal with the latest information and will organize an Info Day on April 30th that, due to the coronavirus crisis, will be held virtually.

This day is aimed at potential applicants who plan to present projects on green technology, nature protection and actions against climate change.

The registration can be done through this link.

The agenda of this event is:

08:30 – 13:00

9:00 | Connection to the Live streaming platform

9:30 | Opening and set up

9:45 | 2020 LIFE call for action grants

10:30 | 15 min Break

10:45 | Applying successfully for LIFE: how does it work?

11:30 | Questions and answers

12:30 | End

There will also be two networking events at 2pm and 4.30pm.

 

The LIFE program in data

The LIFE programme was created in 1992, and since then it has co-financed more than 5,400 projects throughout the EU and in other countries, contributing more than 3.1 billion euros to environmental protection. The budget of the LIFE programme for this period 2014-2020 arises to 3.4 billion euros.

2021-2027: increase in the budget for the environment

The European Commission, aware of the threats posed by climate change and environmental degradation, has requested an increase in the budget of the LIFE programme to finance projects aimed at providing a better quality of life for Europeans and investing in a more sustainable future. This progressive increase will culminate in the period 2021-2027 when funding is expected to increase to 5,450 million euros.

This commitment by the EU is helping to meet its climate targets, as reflected in the European Green Pact, a roadmap created to give the EU a sustainable economy.

In addition to this increase in funding, the main elements of the new LIFE programme (2021-2027) are as follows:

Continued support for the transition to a circular economy and enhanced climate change mitigation: this includes funding to meet key policy objectives in line with the EU’s long-term strategic vision of a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050.

Increased emphasis to support the transition to clean energy: a new specific sub-programme will stimulate investment and support activities focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy, in particular in those sectors and regions of Europe that are lagging behind in the transition to clean energy.

An increased focus on nature and biodiversity: one of the traditional strands of the LIFE programme, the new specific “strategic nature projects” for all Member States, will help to integrate nature and biodiversity policy objectives into other policies and funding programmes, such as agriculture and rural development, ensuring a more coherent approach across sectors.

A simple and flexible approach focused on the development and implementation of innovative ways to respond to environmental and climate challenges.

In order to define the final details of the LIFE Programme for the period 2021-2027 the European Commission has opened a public consultation which will be online until 27 April.