(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many 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
(million EUR)
Financial programming | 5 447.6 |
NextGenerationEU |
|
Decommitments made available again (*) | N/A |
Contributions from other countries and entities | 2.2 |
Total budget 2021-2027 | 5 449.8 |
(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.
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.
Our environment and climate are under threat by the cumulative impact of human activities. The EU is committed to protect the environment and its biodiversity, ensure the quality of the air that we breath, carefully manage water resources and waste, increase our reliance on clean energy and mitigate and adapt to climate change dynamics.
Over the years, environmental, climate and relevant energy legislation and policy of the Union have delivered substantial improvements to the state of the environment. However, major challenges remain, which, if left unaddressed, might have significant negative consequences for the well-being of European citizens.
A healthy and sustainable environment and the climate are public goods. When a Member State decides how much to invest in these areas, it may fail to consider the benefits that such investments bring to other Member States. This means that intervention and investments also need to take place at the EU level.
LIFE aims to contribute to:
- shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and resilient economy;
- protecting, restoring and improving the quality of the environment, including the air, water and soil;
- halting and reversing biodiversity loss and tackling the degradation of ecosystems
LIFE is designed to support the objectives of EU legislation and policy on the environment – including nature and biodiversity – and on climate action, including the transition to renewable energy and increased energy efficiency through:
- developing and promoting innovative techniques and approaches and contributing to the knowledge base and to the application of best practices and disseminating knowledge and best practices, including through the support of the Natura 2000 network;
- improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing capacities of public and private entities and the involvement of civil society;
- developing, implementing, monitoring and enforcement of relevant Union legislation and policy on the environment, in particular by enhancing the capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society;
- catalysing the large-scale deployment of successful technical and policy-related solutions by integrating related objectives into other policies and public and private sector practices, mobilising investment and improving access to finance.
Being implemented by DG Environment, DG Climate Action and DG Energy, the LIFE programme is in a unique position to closely support the implementation of the EU environment, climate action and clean energy legislation and policies. The overall structure of the LIFE programme is in fact designed to support the implementation of the European Green Deal on the ground, while ensure close alignment with the EU environment, climate action and clean energy legislation and policy priorities.
LIFE comprises four subprogrammes: (1) ‘Nature and biodiversity’; (2) ‘Circular economy and quality of life’; (3) ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’; and (4) ‘Clean energy transition’.
In these subprogrammes, LIFE finances activities such as:
- strategic nature projects that support the achievement of EU nature and biodiversity objectives, by implementing coherent action programmes in Member States in order to mainstream the objectives and priorities into other policies and financing instruments;
- strategic integrated projects that implement – on a regional, multi-regional, national or transnational scale – environmental or climate strategies or action plans developed by Member State authorities and required by specific EU environmental, climate or relevant energy legislation or policy;
- standard action projects are projects pursuing the testing of innovative solutions and/or the promotion of best practices on environment, nature and biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation;
- other projectsincluding top-down grants the LIFE Clean Energy Transition Coordination and Support Actions supporting capacity buildings and the enabling framework for renewable energy and energy efficiency uptake;
- procurement and other actions (e.g. studies to support the evaluation and monitoring of policies, technical assistance to support Member States in the implementation and monitoring of environmental and climate policies, information and communication activities), technical assistance for supporting green investments, prizes, etc.
LIFE is implemented through direct management (grants, procurement, prizes and technical assistance to support investments) and indirect management for specific activities, including with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the mobilisation of investments in line with the objective of the LIFE programme.
Within the Commission, DG Environment is the lead, with support from DG Energy and DG Climate Action. Each DG is responsible of specific subprogrammes. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency manages the bulk of the grants, few procurement activities and a technical assistance scheme to support green investment and the greening of other investments (Green Assist).
The number of subprogrammes has increased from two (environment and climate action) to four (nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy transition).
The ‘Clean energy transition’ subprogramme has an incorporated actions for capacity building supporting energy, efficiency and renewable energy previously funded under Horizon 2020 (until 2020).
Building on the strategic integrated projects first launched under the 2014-2020 LIFE programme, the 2021-2027 LIFE programme will continue to support strategic integrated projects (to a slightly greater scale than previously) and has introduced a dedicated source of funding to support strategic nature projects under the ‘Nature and biodiversity’ subprogramme.
Programme website:
- The main website of the LIFE programme provides information on the programme itself, funding opportunities, project management and links to the database including : information on all LIFE projects (LIFE public project database), the best LIFE projects (Best projects and LIFE awards) and publications (LIFE publications)
Impact assessment:
- The impact assessment of LIFE was carried out in 2018
Relevant regulation:
Evaluations:
- the ex-post evaluation of the LIFE 2014-2020 is on-going and outcomes are expected by end 2023. The mid-term evaluation of the LIFE 2021-2027 will be launched soon, outcomes are expected by end 2024.
Budget
Budget programming (million EUR):
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial programming | 738.8 | 755.5 | 756.1 | 744.9 | 773.8 | 816.7 | 861.6 | 5 447.6 |
| NextGenerationEU | ||||||||
| Decommitments made available again (*) | N/A | N/A | ||||||
| Contributions from other countries and entities | 1.1 | 1.1 | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | p.m. | 1.1 |
| Total | 740.0 | 756.6 | 756.1 | 744.9 | 773.8 | 816.7 | 861.6 | 5 449.8 |
(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.
Financial programming:
+ EUR 15.6 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.
Budget performance – implementation
Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):
| Implementation | 2021-2027 Budget | Implementation rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitments | 1 496.3 | 5 449.8 | 27.5% |
| Payments | 288.8 | 5.3% |
Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR) (1):
| Commitments | Payments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voted budget implementation | Initial voted budget | Voted budget implementation | Initial voted budget | |
| 2021 | 738.7 | 738.5 | 22.8 | 43.5 |
| 2022 | 755.4 | 755.5 | 260.5 | 232.0 |
(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.
The bulk of 2022 appropriations – more than 80% of the budget – is used to finance different types of projects submitted by EU private and public organisations. Approximately 17% of the budget is for the financing of procurement contracts to support the work on environment, climate and energy legislation and policies and 3% of the budget is devoted to the provision of technical assistance for facilitating green investments.
Procurement activities supports the development, monitoring, evaluation and enforcement of environmental and climate policies and legislation, including the support to EU Member States for their implementation.
- The cumulated budget programme implementation rate (2021 and 2022) is 100%.
In 2022, EUR 620 million of the LIFE 2021 budget have been awarded to 241 LIFE projects on climate change mitigation and adaptation, nature and biodiversity, renewables energy, energy efficiency, zero pollution and circular economy.
They include six strategic integrated projects and two strategic nature projects that will implement climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies and plans, river management plans and priority action frameworks in several European regions.
In 2022, the calls for proposals were received with great interest confirmed both by the number of organisations involved (about 5 200 applicant organisations) as well as by the high number of submitted proposals (over 850 proposals received with about EUR 3 billion of total requested budget).
About EUR 300 million of projects could not be financed in 2022 because of the budget limitations. The large majority (80%) is under the ‘Nature and biodiversity’ subprogramme, followed by ‘Climate mitigation and adaptation’ (12%), ‘Clean energy transition’ (7%) and ‘Circular economy and quality of life’ (2%). Considering the foreseen co-financing, they would have represented an overall investment amount on environmental and climate action of almost EUR 0.5 billion.
LIFE has confirmed its capacity to attract a wide range of applicants, going from private organisations (about 63% of the total - out of which 55% of private commercial organisations), to public organisations (36% of the total). The participation of public and private research institutes and higher education institutions is also noticeable (25% of the total).
- The ‘Circular economy and quality of life’ subprogramme and the climate change mitigation area registered a high share of applicants from the private commercial sector (over 53%).
- The ‘Nature and biodiversity’ subprogramme and the climate change adaptation area registered a high share of public applicants (over 52%) and the highest share of public and private research organisations and higher education institutions (around 30%).
- Under the ‘Clean energy transition’ subprogramme, the calls for proposals targeted enabling and support actions in line with the implementation of the clean energy legislation in the Fit-for-55 package to deliver on the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan to phase-out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels imports. This has strengthened the LIFE contribution to the area of decarbonisation of heating supply, by introducing topics specifically targeted to heat-pumps deployment and district heating system modernisation, as well as strengthening its support for the acceleration of clean energy solutions in buildings, enterprises and the public sector.
- Projects under the ‘Climate mitigation and adaptation’ subprogramme and ‘Circular economy and quality of life’ subprogramme support, among other things, the reduction of primary energy demand, either by implementing energy efficiency measures or by supporting energy production from renewable sources. They focus on energy efficiency in an industrial environment, and particularly on energy-intensive industries (e.g. metals, electronics, ceramic, etc..), or in building construction and renovation.
According to a recent survey, about 20% of on-going LIFE projects are being seriously impacted by the energy crises and the war in Ukraine. They are in particular suffering from unexpected price increases - e.g. steel, iron, timber, fuels, energy, construction works, personnel costs.- and important delays in the delivery of electronic materials and components (e.g. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), microprocessors, etc.).
The situation is having an immediate direct impact on the duration of the projects, because of the need to relaunch tenders/contracts (e.g. fixed price contracts terminated by the suppliers because they became unsustainable tenders that had to be relaunched because prices were no more in line with the market) or to implement additional activities (e.g. fund raising to cover the increased project costs; search for less expensive substitutes by replacing costly materials and/or modifying processes).
For some projects the uncertainty surrounding gas and energy prices is jeopardising the project business models: e.g. a project aimed at producing natural gas from green waste through the use of an innovative technology is experiencing serious difficulties because of the increase in the energy costs that makes the operative costs of the pilot plant operation higher than expected. Another project that is testing an innovative Diesel Dual Fuel technology combining diesel fuel with gas, is seeing the attractiveness of its engine reduced because of the quick rise of gas prices.
The Commission, together with CINEA, is following the situation and identifying measures to help the beneficiaries and mitigate the risk of low performance.
In 2023, above EUR 600 million will finance about 250 projects on nature and biodiversity (38% of the budget), on circular economy and zero pollution (25%), on climate change mitigation and adaptation (18%) and on sustainable energy (18%).
Approximately 3% of the budget will support ‘green solutions’, where a lack of capacity to access funding is the main barrier for the large-scale deployment of a technology, approach or policy which has proven to be effective. This kind of support is implemented via different technical assistance facilities: by the EIB in the framework of InvestEU and by the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency through Green Assist.
The required payment funds will mainly be used to finance ongoing projects and relevant contracts. Most of the projects and contracts are multiannual and payments are made in instalments.
Contribution to horizontal priorities
Green budgeting
Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):
| Implementation | Estimates | Total | % of the total envelope | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | |||
| Climate mainstreaming | 442.5 | 567.9 | 454.9 | 439.4 | 453.3 | 474.0 | 493.0 | 3 325.1 | 61% |
| Biodiversity mainstreaming | 353.3 | 356.7 | 356.9 | 360.8 | 380.7 | 407.8 | 438.7 | 2 654.9 | 49% |
| Clean air | 128.7 | 128.7 | 2% | ||||||
- LIFE is the only programme under the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework fully dedicated to environmental and climate action, including sustainable energy. LIFE is a cornerstone in the EU environmental and climate policies and legislation. LIFE-funded activities contribute directly to the green priorities of the Commission.
- LIFE encourages a holistic vision of the environment: projects can contribute to more than one horizontal priority, considering the strong interlinkages among them.
On climate mainstreaming
- The climate change mitigation and adaptation projects and the clean energy transition projects are directly aimed at contributing to cut our greenhouse gas emissions to net zero and to improve preparedness and the capacity to respond to the impacts of climate change. Climate mitigation projects are focused on land use, agriculture and forestry, energy-intensive industries, energy efficiency and renewable energy, mobility, ozone-depleting substances and fluorinated gases, and carbon capture and storage. Climate adaptation projects aim at increasing climate change resilience in all sectors of the economy and society. Clean energy transition projects are focused on clean energy solutions, market uptake and local climate and clean energy planning. For instance, projects like the LIFE 2021 project COHEAT2 aim at supporting the switch to sustainable heating sources in the region of South Denmark, and projects like EnergyEfficiency4SMEs focus on supporting companies of the agri-food and metalwork sector in implementing energy efficiency measures.
- The ‘Nature and biodiversity’ subprogramme contributes to climate mainstreaming by protecting, maintaining and restoring the EU’s natural capital in its marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, which are natural carbon sinks and help prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
- Circular economy and quality of life projects also contribute to climate mainstreaming by supporting eco-friendly products and processes, contributing to air and water quality, preventing soil degradation and increasing their resilience.
On biodiversity mainstreaming
- Nature and biodiversity projects aim to protect and restore Europe’s nature and halt and reverse biodiversity loss. They include projects in the areas of biodiversity, habitats and species. They also support the implementation of the EU birds and habitats directives, in particular the development and management of the Natura 2000 network, and the invasive alien species regulation. These projects contribute in full to the objectives and targets of the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
- Circular economy and quality of life projects are expected to provide a positive contribution to biodiversity by protecting water, air and soil and promoting a more sustainable and safe use of chemicals (e.g. pesticides, fertilisers, antimicrobials and nanomaterials).
- Climate change adaptation projects contribute to the achievement of biodiversity objectives by facilitating the roll-out of viable nature-based solutions in the management of land, coastal and marine areas and supporting solutions to ensure a stable and secure supply of high-quality freshwater, prevent droughts, reduce water use, protect and restore wetlands and prevent floods.
LIFE contributes to clean air mainstreaming with projects financed under the ‘Circular economy and quality of life’ subprogramme and the ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’ subprogramme. They demonstrate viable solutions for certain industries, agriculture and city administrations to implement less-polluting processes and practices, develop modelling and monitoring tools and contribute to behavioural change.
The contributions of the programme to climate mainstreaming and biodiversity for 2022 are estimates, given that the bulk of the projects are under evaluation and have not started yet.
Given that the contributions to gender and digital economy are based on specific projects, data could only be available in the year n+2.
In 2023 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.
Gender
Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):
| Gender Score | 2021 (1) | 2022 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 736.6 | 753.0 | 1 489.6 |
| 1 | 2.1 | 2.4 | 4.5 |
(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.
(1) Update from last year figures
Although gender equality is not among the specific objectives of the LIFE programme, a gender dimension is specifically taken into account in some areas of intervention to identify how men and women relate to the environment and 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 (REACH) and the classification, labelling and packaging regulation – to support innovation for safe and sustainable chemicals and to promote better knowledge on factors justifying a gender-differentiated approach in sound chemical management. Recurrent LIFE-funded activities are the annual forum on endocrine disruptors, meetings and round tables 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 of 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 LIFE19 GIC/CZ/001333 RegENERateLife worked on coupling just transition efforts with gender equality in one mining region in Romania. The project strongly promotes mobilising local actors, including less represented voices like women and youth, for the elaboration of a common vision of needs and prospects for the future development of nine just transition regions in seven central and eastern European countries. The project produced a report, ‘Women's participation in the just transition process’ and, in April 2022, a workshop was conducted on empowering women’s voices in the Jiu Valley region.
Taking into account the granularity level 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 as a de minimis contribution.
Digital
Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):
| 2021 implementation | 2022 implementation | Total | % of the total envelope | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital contribution | 11.8 | not yet available | 11.8 | 1% |
- 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.
- The LIFE ‘Clean energy transition’ subprogramme support 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 regards to smart buildings and smart energy services. 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.
Budget performance – outcomes
| Baseline | Progress (*) | Target | Results | Assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of projects that are developing, demonstrating and promoting innovative techniques and approaches to contribute to the shift towards a sustainable, circular, energy-efficient, renewable energy-based, climate-neutral and -resilient economy | 0 | 23% | 875 IN 2028 | 202 compared to a target of 875 | On track |
| Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions | 12 million | 0% | 16.5 million in 2030 | 12.0 million compared to a target of 16.5 million | On track |
| Population benefiting from a reduction of their vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change | 1.7 million | 0% | 3.1 million in 2030 | 1.7 million compared to a target of 3.1 million | On track |
| Additional primary energy savings | 0 | 0% | 4 463 Gigawatt per year in 2030 | No results | On track |
| Habitats where loss of biodiversity is being halted or reversed | 1.6 million | 0% | 3.1 million in 2030 | 1.6 million compared to a target of 3.1 million | On track |
| Number of projects for the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of Union legislation and policies on environment and climate action | 0 | 16% | 1 254 in 2028 | 196 compared to a target of 1 254 | On track |
| Number of projects improving governance at all levels, in particular through enhancing the capacities of public and private actors and the involvement of civil society | 0 | 19% | 296 in 2030 | 56 compared to a target of 296 | On track |
| Number of organisations involved in projects or receiving operating grants | 6 700 | 19% | 16 200 in 2028 | 8 516 compared to a target of 16 200 | On track |
(*) % of target achieved by the end of 2022.
Link to file with complete set of EU core performance indicators
Given that the projects financed from the 2021 budget have started recently, this year’s performance is focused on the outputs produced, which show that the implementation of the programme is on track to reach milestones and targets. All LIFE projects provide a direct contribution to different 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: the 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 investments.
- Over 200 LIFE projects started in 2022 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.
- A total of eight strategic integrated and strategic nature projects were started in 2022. These projects are designed to mobilise and coordinate additional funds coming from different sources, including national and private funding, for environmental and climate objectives.
Taking into account the different implementation periods, 200 thousand hectares of land have been purchased across the EU, which are now protected indefinitely, under the ‘Nature and biodiversity’ subprogramme.
Under the ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation’ subprogramme, 30 LIFE 2021 standard action projects and four strategic integrated projects awarded in 2022 are expected to contribute to the European Green Deal by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the production of renewable energy and helping Europe to adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change and become climate resilient by 2050. Among the activities financed under the 2021 call for proposals, LIFE will support the demonstration of innovative solutions to produce biogas and biomethane from waste and residue streams, supporting REPowerEU efforts to cut dependencies from Russian fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
LIFE 2021 climate projects will also support the implementation of several Commission policies, such as the proposal to reduce fluorinated greenhouse gases, the proposal for a framework for the certification of carbon removals and the EU adaptation strategy. LIFE climate action projects are also expected to improve air quality and soil health and will facilitate the shift toward a circular economy, contributing to establish a holistic vision of the climate and environment.
Beyond projects, the LIFE programme financed several activities in support of 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. To that purpose, the REPowerEU legislative amendment has increased the ambition of the Fit-for-55 legislative revisions by raising the Commission proposals for the 2030 energy efficiency and renewable targets and introducing step-in obligations for solar-ready buildings
- The proposal on the certification of carbon removals aiming to expand sustainable carbon removals and encourage the use of innovative solutions for farmers, foresters and industries to capture, recycle and store CO2.
- The proposal for a nature restoration law seeking to introduce new targets across the EU for the protection and restoration of all key ecosystems, going beyond the existing protected areas and making sure that measures are put in place across Europe to restore all degraded ecosystems.
Two association agreements with non-EU countries were signed with Ukraine and Moldova. Entities from those countries and Iceland are eligible for funded projects.
For the first time, some projects were awarded the LIFE Seal of Excellence. These are good-quality projects which could not be financed under the LIFE programme due to budgetary constraints. They will be transmitted for possible financing to the authorities responsible for the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund+ and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.
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
Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):
| Implementation | 2014-2020 Budget | Implementation rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitments | 3 464.4 | 3 466.4 | 99.9% |
| Payments | 2 223.4 | 64.1% |
- The required payment funds will mainly be used to finance ongoing projects and relevant contracts. Most of the projects and contracts are multiannual and payments are made in instalments.
| Baseline | Progress (*) | Target | Results | Assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Implementation of the seventh environment action programme | 0 | > 100% (*) | 1 700 | 2 999 interventions compared to a target of 1 700 | On track |
| Population benefiting from improved air quality | > 100% (**) | 1.4 million | 1.9 million people compared to a target of 1.4 million | On track |
(*) % of target achieved by the end of 2021.
(**) % of target achieved by the end of 2020.
Link to file with complete set of EU core performance indicators
- 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 on-going and just completed projects.
Sustainable development goals
Contribution to the sustainable development goals
| SDGs the programme contributes to | Example |
|---|---|
|
SDG2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture |
In LIFE the promotion of sustainable agriculture is pursued in the framework of the nature and biodiversity projects as well as in the framework of the projects pursuing resource efficiency, clean water, water savings, soil quality. An example is the LIFE Innocereal, awarded in 2022, it will facilitate connections between the links of the cereals value chain by creating certification systems for low emission production, demonstrating its benefits for all the supply chain and increasing the final product’s added value (bread, pasta, beer). In addition to increasing the production of cereals, LIFE Innocereal is expected to improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, due to decreased CO2 emissions as a result of 25% less use of nitrogenated fertilisers, 75% less use of phosphorous fertilisers, 45% less use of fossil fuels and a 50% decrease in herbicide use. |
|
SDG3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages |
LIFE funds projects that contribute to improving air quality and specific air pollutants. An example is the LIFE IP CLEAN AIR that will end in 2024 and has contributed to bring municipalities working together to improve air quality, creating a model of cooperation and identifying best practices. |
|
SDG4 Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all |
Recurrent activities in the LIFE funded projects include knowledge sharing, awareness raising and training activities, allowing to promote new sustainable practices and develop green skills. As an example, the LIFE21-CET-BUILDSKILLS supported rebooting 13 Build-Up Skills National Platforms and Roadmaps for reskilling and upscaling building renovations workforce and professionals in line with the clean energy transition agenda. LIFE CET 2021 Build-Up Skills Call topic has finance 13 single-country projects in AT, BG, HR, CZ+SK, FR, EL, HU, IR, LT, NL, PL, RO, ES |
|
SDG6 Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all |
LIFE projects contribute to prevent pollution, ensure water savings and improve the ecological status of the water bodies. An example is the LIFE-IP-RBMP-Malta project that is an eight year project led by the Energy and Water Agency and co-financed under the EU LIFE Programme. The project will support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Malta. This will ensure the optimised management of all water resources on the Maltese Islands. |
|
SDG7 Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all |
Under the LIFE-programme, aspects of sustainable energy have been considered within the sub-programmes on Circular Economy and Climate Mitigation and Adaptation. Moreover, the LIFE programme 2021-2027 includes a dedicated sub-programme, the LIFE Clean Energy Transition Sub programme. An example is the Swedish project LIFE SUNRISE, awarded in 2022, aims to widen consumer access to innovative organic photovoltaic (OPV) solutions in the IoT context and, in the long term, to build also integrated photovoltaics, offering affordable organic solar cells in huge volumes and thereby accelerating the global shift to sustainable energy solutions. The project is expected to increase its OPV production capacity to 20 000 000 OPV modules per year and reduce the production costs by 85%. By the end of its implementation, the project will have obtained a reduction of approx. 13 000 tons of CO2 emissions and 500 tons of battery waste by replacing primary batteries with the light energy harvesting concept, reaching a capacity of 3000 kWh, and a reduction of use of critical raw materials by 50 tons per year due to replacement of primary batteries. REDI4HEAT, Odysee-MURE and LifeGigaRegioFactory are 3 of many LIFE Clean Energy Transition projects that focus on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. All 68 LIFE CET 2021 projects could in fact be listed as contributing to this Sustainable Development Goal. REDI4HEAT focus on integrating more stringent renewable energy generation provision for heating and cooling. Fit-for-55 Odysee-MURE focused on monitor, advocate and promote energy efficiency uptake as a cornerstone of climate neutrality ambition. LifeGigaRegioFactory project instead address the needs to support the market uptake of industrialised Net Zero energy renovation solutions, accessible to all, for the climate neutral building stock |
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SDG8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all |
LIFE is a catalyst for investments in innovative green businesses that will help generate more jobs, both directly and indirectly. An example is the LIFE CARBON2MINE, awarded in 2022, proposes an innovative solution to contribute to climate change mitigation, focusing on one of the most economically depressed regions in Europe: the Asturian mining areas, directly affected by coal mine closures and the phase out of coal power plants. In this context, CARBON2MINE will restore mining areas through silvicultural models that improve carbon storage and sequestration capacity, biodiversity and the supply of ecosystem services in this territory. The project will also contribute to a cleaner energy production and circular economy by using forest biomass and studying new silvicultural models aimed at producing primary and secondary forest biomass and by incorporating combustion ashes (residues) from nearby bioenergy production processes as fertilisers to forest plantations. CARBON2MINE is expected to launch a new model of economic reactivation, based on the promotion of business activities framed within the forestry field with a remarkable capacity to generate employment, attract population and stimulate the local economy, particularly in rural areas. LIFE21-CET-AUDITS-AUDIT-TO-MEASURE: Leading business towards climate neutrality by speeding up the uptake of energy efficiency measures from the energy audits. The LIFE 2021 project Audit-to-Measure is one example for the LIFE CET projects focusing on energy efficiency in enterprises and on the uptake of energy audits recommendations, in order to advance toward climate neutrality and increase EU competitiveness via energy efficiency measures |
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SDG9 Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation |
LIFE promotes sustainable industry processes such as reduction of waste, water use, CO2 emissions, etc. An example is the LIFE@F-Gases project that aims to validate at industrial scale a new technique for separating, by distillation, the molecules composing F-gases, thereby introducing the principle of circular economy for gases that are not reusable today. This project is also a good example of how LIFE can help to uptake research and innovation |
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SDG10 Reduce inequalities within and among countries |
The LIFE programme provides support adequate policies, laws and regulations are in place to prevent or redress environmental harms and to respond to the environment, climate and energy emergencies tackling economic and social injustice. An example is the LIFE21-CET-COALREGIONS-JUSTEM: Justice in Transition and Empowerment against energy poverty. The JUSTEM project awarded in 2021 is one example of the LIFE CET projects addressing specifically EU coal regions and their specific challenges to engage local communities and citizens in the just and clean energy transition, while taking in particular attention to reduce inequalities. |
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SDG11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable |
LIFE supports cities in their ambitions towards better health, increased sustainability, or improved resiliency to climate change. Projects pursue different aims, ranging from improvements in air quality, including the transition to carbon neutrality, to sustainable management of water, to the integration of biodiversity conservation in urban landscape. The main objective of the LIFECOOLCITY project, awarded in 2022, is to increase the resilience of Estonian and Latvian urban areas to extreme weather events by focusing on 4 specific objectives: nature-based solutions, digital change, quality of planning and engaged communities with skilled enablers. The project is expected to increase the adaptive capacity of at least 10,000 EU cities in 23 EU countries by implementing two innovative IT systems for the management of blue-green infrastructure (BGI). The EUROPE system, based on satellite data, will be implemented in the 10,000 selected EU cities to develop ranking of the BGI status. The CITY system, based on airborne data, will be implemented in the city of Wroclaw to precisely identify areas with the highest priority for action, link them to most effective Nature-based Solutions (NBS) interventions and monitor their performance after implementation. Based on the CITY system’s recommendations, the project will protect greenery, review management procedures and build blue-green infrastructures. The EUROPE and CITY systems will be commercialised and replicated during and after the project among the target group cities. The LIFE EU City Facility financed under call 2021 aims at bridging the gap between local energy strategies (SECAPs or similar) and finance and implementation of investment projects, by providing local authorities with technical assistance and lumpsums for the development of their projects. The In-Plan project awarded in 2021 is instead one examples of the LIFE CET Local projects dedicated to cities and regions, for their designing and implementation of local transition plans. The In-Plan project in particular aims to bridge and integrate energy, climate and spatial planning in cities. The 2021 CondoReno project is an example of support provided by LIFE CET for the deployment of Integrated Home Renovation Services/OSS for energy renovations of buildings, increasing energy efficiency and integrating renewable energy. CondoReno in particular address the more challenging market of multi-apartment buildings renovations by deploying 4 OSS and developing two different models of services, one supported by local authorities and the other by market actors. |
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SDG12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns |
LIFE contributes to the shift towards a sustainable, circular, and climate-neutral economy by financing: innovative solutions to support value-added recycled materials, components, or products; the implementation of business and consumption models or solutions to support value chains, in particularly under the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy; the identification, tracking, separation, prevention and decontamination of waste containing hazardous substances. An example is the LIFE-ECOTEX project that aim to provide an alternative solution in this scenario by focusing on the introduction of the circular economy concept within the shoemaking industry, closing the loop of the polyester textile wastes by means of the feedstock recycling and leading to the obtaining of chemical monomers with high added value which can be employed in the manufacturing of fibres and, in turn, in the manufacturing of new textile products. The LIFE21-CET-ENERCOM-JALON: Joining Actors for LOcal development of New large-scale regional energy communities. The 2021 LIFE CET Jalon project is one example of LIFE CET funded projects addressing Energy Communities, prosumers and self-consumption and production pattern of renewable energy. Examples of Energy Communities projects could have featured as well under SDG7. Key-features of the JALON project in particular is that it focuses on developing Energy Communities in rural areas across different villages and at county-level. |
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SDG13 Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts |
Although all LIFE subprogrammes contribute to prevent and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, one LIFE subprogramme is fully dedicated to climate mitigation and climate and climate adaptation. The sub-programme on clean energy transition focus specifically in fostering the transition to more sustainable forms of energy consumption. Given that 75% of GHG emitted in the EU coming from energy consumptions, clean energy transition is a most fundamental area to address climate change. An example is the project LIFE LATESTADAPT, awarded in 2022, will help Estonian and Latvian urban areas to address the urgency of increasing resilience to extreme weather events. More specifically, the project will develop and test a set of measures and tools in 8 urban demonstration sites of Latvian and Estonian local governments to help prevent and respond in case of pluvial flooding. The project will apply Green infrastructure (GI) and Nature Based Solutions (NBS) in local urban municipal planning and, in addition, it will strengthen the capacity of local governments (planners, project managers and politicians) and raise awareness on adaptation to climate change and co-creation with local communities. It will be implemented by 16 Latvian and Estonian partners in close cross-border co-operation and the results will be transferred to other local governments in the Baltic region as well as to other EU Member States. |
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SDG14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development |
Established together with the Nature directives, the LIFE programme has among its core activities, the support to nature and biodiversity. Throughout the years, LIFE projects contributed to the identification and designation of both the marine and terrestrial Natura 2000 network, purchased tens of thousands of hectares of Europe’s most rare and endangered habitat types and restored degraded ecosystems, safeguarded numerous species from extinction, ensured the recovery of many local and endemic species, supported practical measures on the ground to prevent, control and eradicate invasive alien species. An example is the LIFECALLIOPE project aimed to protect coastal dunes, sublittoral sandbanks and marine reefs along the central Adriatic coast of Italy and the north-western coast of Cyprus, and especially to mitigate direct and indirect human threats (e.g. from conflicts with fishing and tourist activities). The project will implement integrated management for coastal and marine areas to conserve target habitats and species |
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SDG15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss |
The LIFE programme plays a crucial role in helping Member States to achieve various targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. There are already numerous projects in place to assist in the recovery of highly threatened species and the restoration of thousands of hectares of degraded habitats. An example is the LIFE21-CCM-IT-LIFE ClimatePositive (sustainable management of forests) project aimed to promote forest landowners associations, to overcome fragmentation of land property, and to support responsible management as well as carbon sequestration in Italian forests. |