LIFE - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Some come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes.}

Budget for 2021-2027

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Rationale and design of the programme

The programme for the environment and climate action (LIFE) aims to facilitate the shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy. LIFE will contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change, to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment – including air, water and soil – and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Moreover, it will tackle the degradation of ecosystems, including through supporting the implementation and management of the Natura 2000 network, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

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Financial programming:
+ EUR 5.4 million (+ 0%)
compared to the legal basis*

^{* Top-ups pursuant to Art. 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

^{The top up is the result of multiple interventions on the budget programming of the LIFE programme, mainly linked to the annual increases decided by the Budget Authorities minus the reductions due to the transfer of funds to other budget line (e.g. for the European Environmental Agency).} 

Budget performance – implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Voted budget implementation (million EUR) ^(*):

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Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

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The contributions of the programme to climate mainstreaming and biodiversity for 2023 are estimates, as the bulk of the projects are under evaluation and have not started yet. 
Given that the contributions to clean air, gender and digital economy are based on specific projects, data may only be available in the year n + 2.
In 2024 LIFE is expected to support about:

• 200 projects that will contribute to climate mainstreaming;
• 140 projects that will contribute to nature and biodiversity;
• 130 projects that will contribute to clean air.

The following projects contribute, for example, to climate mainstreaming.

• The LIFE + A_greenet project aims to reduce the vulnerability of cities along the coastline of the middle Adriatic Sea to rising temperatures and heatwaves. The project will seek to achieve this by implementing adaptation measures in urban areas and improving the governance and management of green areas through the development of supporting tools and participatory processes.
• The LIFE Reptes project aims to demonstrate a new circular model, applicable to wastewater treatment plants, that will integrate the production of biohydrogen from pre-treated lignocellulosic crop by-products and sludge from wastewater treatment plants by means of an innovative dark fermentation process. The fermented liquid stream will be used for biogas production through its use as an anaerobic digestion co-substrate.

The following projects contribute, for example, to nature and biodiversity.

• The LIFE restore for Mura-Drava-Danube Rivers project focuses on the conservation and restoration of the largest contiguous riparian forest system in the Danube River basin. For 5 years, 17 partners from Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia will collaborate on the restoration of the largest riparian forest system in the Danube River basin, a biodiversity hotspot with over 5 000 animal species, including 70 different varieties of fish, and more than 1 500 plant species. 
• The Woodmeadowlife project is restoring a significant proportion of the wooded meadows in Estonia and Latvia, to establish long-term arrangements and infrastructure on private land for their future management and to highlight their ecosystem services, ecological functions and unique heritage value.

The following projects contribute, for example, to clean air.

• The I-Share LIFE project contributes to the implementation of EU legislation on air quality. It demonstrates innovative electric car-sharing models to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles in small to medium-sized urban areas, namely in Bergamo, Como, Bollate and Busto Arsizio in Italy and Osijek in Croatia, each of which has 35 000 to 120 000 inhabitants.
• The LIFE green-stove project will produce an innovative pellet stove that can significantly reduce pollutant emissions and optimise the use of biomass as an alternative to fossil fuels for residential heating, providing 92% efficiency and cleaner combustion. 

Taxonomy-relevant expenditure

The objectives of the LIFE programme are similar to the six environmental objectives defined in the taxonomy regulation. Most LIFE activities under all four subprogrammes aim to contribute to one or more of the environmental objectives set out in the taxonomy regulation, and could be taxonomy eligible, as they have direct and measurable environmental benefits.
Still, LIFE finances multiple activities- such as standard action projects, integrated projects, technical assistance, awareness-raising activities and access to justice - therefore it is necessary to differentiate the types of activities and their alignment with the taxonomy criteria.
While all of the activities financed follow the objectives of the taxonomy regulation, only standard action projects provide a substantial direct contribution to these objectives. Therefore, we will consider all standard action projects as a first approximation to LIFE expenditure that is relevant to taxonomy. Based on a high-level analysis, LIFE standard action projects are assumed to be compliant with the four criteria defined below.

LIFE focuses on supporting projects with the highest level of environmental ambition that aim either to substitute environmentally harmful activities or to decrease considerably the footprint of environmentally harmful activities that cannot be substituted. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that all LIFE-funded projects go beyond compliance with environmental legislation and intend to operate at a substantial contribution level. Standard action projects implement concrete improvements at the regional or local level with a direct benefit, such as projects implementing new climate-neutral farming models, demonstrating innovative methods of large-scale underground energy storage or applying a new solution for the management of mixed plastic waste. Integrated projects have a more complex intervention logic, as they support Member States in the implementation of environmental plans and strategies. A project in Estonia supports the implementation of the 2015-2021 river basin management plan of the East Estonia River Basin District, which will improve the status of surface and groundwater bodies and increase know-how and long-term capacity among all stakeholders involved. An integrated project in Slovenia supports the implementation of the EU waste framework directive, and aims to increase recycling rates and create more than 6 000 jobs relating to the circular economy and waste management. Since the integrated projects also create benefits that are not covered by the taxonomy regulation (implementation of legislation, increased stakeholder involvement), and the differentiation of the allocated budget is complicated, these have not been considered for the approximation of taxonomy-relevant expenditure. 

All LIFE projects have to demonstrate that they do not significantly harm any of the other environmental objectives of the LIFE programme. LIFE projects are required to measure, against a defined baseline situation, their specific contributions to the environmental objectives of the taxonomy regulation.

Every project is carried out in compliance with the relevant law and regulations, thus they respect the minimum safeguards set out in the taxonomy regulation.

Based on this assessment, it is assumed that the standard action projects in the area of nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate mitigation and climate adaptation are taxonomy relevant. To fully understand the alignment with the taxonomy technical criteria, an analysis at project level would be necessary. This is complex, and is not possible under the current time and resource constraints.
To sum up, for the estimation of taxonomy-relevant expenditure under the LIFE programme, only standard action projects under the named subprogrammes are considered. These have direct and measurable benefits for the environmental objectives of the taxonomy regulation. Standard action projects that target climate and environment governance and information are not included. Furthermore, other project categories, such as technical assistance projects and operating grants, and all other projects, including coordination and support actions under clean energy transition, are not included.
Moreover, to avoid an overestimate, the amounts for strategic integrated and strategic nature projects will be excluded, given that they create benefits not covered under the taxonomy regulation.
 

The total amount of EU funding assumed to be taxonomy relevant is thus EUR 637 795 808 (based on data extracted from the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency project dashboard on 19 March 2024).

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

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The LIFE programme does not directly target gender equality, since its main objective is linked to climate and environment spending. Still, a gender dimension is considered in some areas of intervention to identify how men and women relate to the environment and to climate action in different ways, thus addressing specific gender vulnerabilities (e.g. inherent to harmful chemicals such as endocrine disruptors and persistent organic pollutants).
The links between gender and chemicals are also outlined in the EU chemicals strategy for sustainability towards a toxic-free environment. Ongoing work in this area relates to the reinforcement of the legal framework – namely the regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals and the classification, labelling and packaging regulation – to support innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals and to promote better knowledge of factors justifying a gender-differentiated approach in sound chemical management. Recurrent LIFE-funded activities are the annual forum on endocrine disruptors, meetings and round-table discussions on the implementation of the chemicals strategy for sustainability and other activities in the area of chemicals and their impact on health. Other ad hoc activities include the development of the inter-organization programme for the sound management of chemicals toolbox for decision-making in chemicals management and the EU common data platform on chemicals.
A gender perspective is also included, where relevant, at the project level, often as a component of multidimensional projects. For example, the project LIFE22-CET-TOP clever aims to empower construction professionals and workers with the skills needed to face the challenges of the whole-life carbon and circular approach throughout a building’s life cycle, to also support the implementation of the level framework   by all actors in the value chain. It will give a voice to female professionals and workers to raise awareness in relation to equal opportunities in the field.
Considering the level of granularity of the data, the limited size of the LIFE programme and its bottom-up approach, it is not appropriate to provide annual estimates of the project components contributing to gender equality in line with the principle of proportionality.
The above figures can therefore be considered a de minimis contribution.
Most key performance indicators under LIFE target natural resources and not people, such as the area of land on which soil quality is improving, increased efficiency in water management, improvements in waste management, reductions in the use of dangerous chemicals and additional annual renewable energy production. For those key performance indicators targeting people, numbers are collected at an aggregated level and differentiation between genders is difficult, for example population benefiting from an improvement in air quality, population benefiting from a reduction in noise pollution, population benefiting from a reduction in vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change. 
Generally, LIFE does not meet the conditions for either score 1 (‘A firm commitment toward gender equality of the programme, which has positive effects ex post, proven by quantitative or qualitative analysis’) or score 2 (the top-level ambition of the project/programme is to advance gender equality and/or women’s empowerment), since its primary objective is climate action and the environment. It would therefore be appropriate to move to score 0. 

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

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• The digital perspective of the LIFE programme is essentially within the LIFE ‘Clean energy transition’ subprogramme, which supports coordination and initiatives to deploy smart solutions to advance the clean energy transition, in particular smart and system-integrating energy services and smart technologies to increase energy system management in buildings and enterprises.
• This subprogramme supports actions in the area of the digitalisation of the energy system – in line with the EU action plan for the digitalisation of energy – in particular with regard to digital tools and data supporting decision-making for energy-efficiency-related interventions, for example in building renovation projects. More specifically, the selected projects support the reliability of the key instrument of energy performance certificates, their integration with the smart readiness indicator and the automated issuing and roll-out of the building renovation passport.
• As part of the 2021 LIFE ‘Clean energy transition’ call for proposals, five grant agreements were signed in the area of smart buildings and smart energy services for a total EU-budget contribution of about EUR 11 million. As part of the 2022 LIFE clean energy transition call for proposals, four grant agreements were signed addressing smart buildings and digital solutions for energy performance certificates and building renovations for a total EU budget contribution of about EUR 7.6 million.

Budget performance – outcomes

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It was initially planned that reporting on the programme’s performance would only start in 2025 with new data coming from the 2021 call for proposals. As most of the results are already available, it has been decided to bring this forward by 1 year, even if not all the results expected from the 2021 projects have been validated and are, thererefore, included.

The implementation of the programme is largely on track to reach its milestones and targets. For some indicators the results exceed the milestones. This is due to the number and/or scope of the financed projects, which go beyond expectations. The LIFE programme has a bottom-up approach, and the choice of projects (and their contribution to a specific indicator) cannot be defined in advance. If these data are confirmed in the coming years, the milestones and targets will need to be increased.

All LIFE projects provide a direct contribution to various aspects of the European Green Deal: from biodiversity to climate mitigation and adaptation, and from zero pollution to the clean energy transition. 

While LIFE activities tackle certain problems directly on the ground, the programme’s main impact is indirect through its catalytic role: support for small-scale actions intended to initiate, expand or accelerate sustainable production, distribution and consumption practices by supporting:

• the development and exchange of best practices and knowledge;
• the building up of capacities and the speeding up of the implementation of environmental and climate legislation and policies;
• the testing of small-scale technologies and solutions; and
• the mobilisation of funding from other sources.

The following LIFE activities make relevant contributions along these lines.

• The new green assist initiative has been designed to support capacity building and investment.
• Over 200 LIFE projects that began in 2023 are implementing innovative solutions on the ground to facilitate the shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable, energy-based, climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy and to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment, including nature and biodiversity. This number includes projects that support the development and demonstration of innovative clean technologies, such as solar power and hydropower, thermal energy storage and heat pumps, contributing to the objectives of the proposed Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform.  
• A total of 10 strategic integrated and strategic nature projects began in 2023. These projects are designed to support the implementation of plans and strategies required by EU legislation (e.g. air-quality plans, circular economy strategies, climate adaptation strategies) and to mobilise and coordinate additional funds coming from different sources, including national and private funding, to meet environmental and climate objectives.

Considering the various implementation periods, 200 000 hectares of land have been purchased across the EU under the nature and biodiversity subprogramme, which are now protected indefinitely.

The LIFE projects that started in 2023 are expected to contribute to the implementation of several EU legislative acts and policies on the environment, on climate action and on the clean energy transition. The projects will, for example, support the implementation of the zero-pollution action plan, the circular economy action plan, the EU birds and habitats directives, the invasive alien species regulation, the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030, the repowerEU plan, the energy efficiency, renewable energy and energy performance of buildings directives, the eco-design and energy labelling regulations, the F-gases regulation, the land use, land-use change and forestry regulation, the effort-sharing regulation, the legislative proposal on an EU certification framework for carbon removals and the regulation on the governance of the energy union and climate action, along with the functioning of the EU emissions trading system and the EU climate adaptation strategy. 

Beyond projects, the LIFE programme financed several activities supporting the development of environmental, climate and energy legislation and policies, including the following.

• The repowerEU plan to phase out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels imports by accelerating the clean energy transition.
• The implementation of the fit-for-55 climate and energy transition legislation and of the 2023 update of the integrated national energy and climate plans.
• The activities of the expert group supporting the development of methodologies for the certification of carbon removals, under the proposal for a regulation establishing an EU certification framework for carbon removals.
• The communication ‘Securing our future Europe’s – 2040 climate target and path to climate neutrality by 2050 building a sustainable, just and prosperous society’, which recommended a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, and the accompanying impact assessment on possible pathways to reach climate neutrality by 2050, which will inform the debate and the future legislative and policy choices.
• The communication ‘Managing climate risks – Protecting people and prosperity’, which set out how the EU and its Member States can prepare and implement policies to better anticipate, understand and address growing climate risks.
• The proposal for the new soil monitoring law, which provides a legal framework to help achieve healthy soils by 2050.
• The restriction of microplastics intentionally added to products, under the EU regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals and the environmental standards to make food and feed industrial plants greener.
• One association agreement with non-EU countries was signed, with North Macedonia. Entities from that country, along with Iceland, Moldova and Ukraine, are eligible for funding under the LIFE programme.

Synergies in the LIFE programme with horizontal priorities and within the programme

The LIFE programme contributes to the political priorities of the European Green Deal. This is also demonstrated by its financial contribution to biodiversity and the climate target.

LIFE projects are encouraged to pursue a multipurpose approach with respect to the objectives of the programme. This is promoted through a bonus that rewards projects that demonstrate important synergies between the various areas of the programme and its subprogrammes.
As an example, the Vitisom LIFE project contributed to the protection of the environment and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, with positive impacts on biodiversity. The project aimed to introduce an innovative organic fertilisation system as a strategy to enhance vineyard soil protection. The project developed ‘variable-rate technology’ for organic fertilisation in vineyards. These also increase the carbon content of soil, and thus carbon sequestration. A range of environmental impacts was monitored, including the impact on the soil, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and carbon dioxide flows into the atmosphere. The project team recorded increases in the organic matter in soils and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen pollutants in the vineyards. Specifically, over a period of 5 years following the end of the project, the following results were forecast:

• a 30% reduction in the use of chemical fertilisers;
• a 20% reduction in the quantity of organic matter distributed in organic vineyards;
• a 5% average increase in organic matter in the soils;
• a 5% increase in soil biodiversity in terms of the presence of arthropods;
• a 10% reduction in emissions from vineyard soils in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent; and
• a 10% reduction in odour emissions from the distribution of fertilisers.

Several projects reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution (e.g. the CMCD project, the I-Share LIFE project).

Some projects address both biodiversity conservation and the reduction of air pollution. For example, LIFE Airfresh focuses on reforestation policies in cities and the creation of urban forests, which help biodiversity and reduce air pollution. By 2030, four reforested areas will contribute to enhancing biodiversity by providing habitat and food for pollinators and supporting native pollinator communities within cities. The City Biodiversity Index has already improved by + 2.4 compared to the 2020 baseline.

The following projects create synergy between biodiversity and both climate mitigation and adaptation: The integrated ‘living rivers’ project contributes to the implementation of the third river basin management plan for the Danube River by implementing measures to eliminate hydromorphological pressures and supporting ecological targets through the management of protected areas and sustainable forestry, land and fishery management. This will help, for example, to implement nature-based solutions and green infrastructure principles to increase climate resilience, improve water retention in the river basin, enhance biodiversity and reduce flood risk. The integrated ‘waters of life’ project aims to support the implementation of measures to protect and enhance high-status waters in Ireland. The project will focus on land-use pressures at a landscape- and catchment-wide scale, which may lead to a reduction in the amount of high-status waters. The integrated LIFE IP IRIS Austria project develops and implements river development and risk management concepts for flood protection and ecological river restoration. Pilot measures will remove four transverse structures and thus restore longitudinal continuity on a stretch of river about 85 km long. Improved water retention measures are applied over a 37 km stretch, and thus the risk of flooding will be reduced. Some 272 000 people will benefit from the project.

MFF 2014-2020 – LIFE

The LIFE programme 2014-2020 aims to facilitate the shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and climate-resilient economy. LIFE 2014-2020 has contributed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change to protect, restore and improve the quality of the environment – including air, water and soil – and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Moreover, it has tackled the degradation of ecosystems, including through supporting the implementation and management of the Natura 2000 network, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

Budget implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Performance assessment

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• The programme is on track as regards the 2014-2020 activities, the implementation of which will continue during 2023.
• In terms of outputs, in the 2014-2020 period the LIFE programme financed more than 1 400 projects that have contributed to the European Green Deal by mainstreaming nature and biodiversity and/or zero pollution and/or circularity and/or climate action goals.
• About one third of these projects are developing, demonstrating and promoting innovative techniques and approaches to achieve synergies between climate neutrality/adaptation and zero pollution, biodiversity or circular economy goals, thus contributing to promote a holistic vision of the environment.
• With the 11 additional integrated projects financed in 2021, the total LIFE financing for integrated projects amounts to EUR 110 000 000. These projects should facilitate the coordinated use of more than EUR 10 000 000 000 of complementary funding. This implies that for each euro financed by the LIFE programme in the years 2014-2020, an additional EUR 90 are expected to be financed from other sources for the implementation of the targeted plans. Experience shows that the amount of additional funds mobilised by the integrated projects tends to increase during the project lifetime.
• In particular, the 2014-2020 LIFE programme has already exceeded the 2020 targets related to a large number of indicators. Figures could slightly change, following the validation of performance data for ongoing and recently completed projects.

Sustainable development goals

Contribution to the sustainable development goals