On October 21, the European Commission allocated more than €380 million to 133 new projects across Europe as part of the LIFE program aimed at protecting the environment and climate.
The relevant message appeared on the website of this highest executive body of the European Union.
The allocated amount will cover more than half of the total investment needs for these projects, which is €574 million. The rest of the necessary funding is expected to come from national, regional and local authorities, public-private partnerships, business and civil society organizations.
LIFE projects contribute to a wide range of climate, energy and environmental goals of the European Green Deal, including the EU's goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050 and halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.
These investments will have a lasting impact on the environment, the economy and the well-being of all Europeans. This is how the funds will be distributed:
- €143 million (of which €74 million is the EU contribution) for the development of the circular economy and improvement of the quality of life; 26 projects are aimed at reducing the use of water, industrial and household waste, air and noise pollution, as well as at the economic justification of the need to reduce, reuse and recycle waste;
- about €216 million (€144.5 million – EU contribution) for 25 nature protection and biodiversity projects aimed at restoring freshwater, marine and coastal ecosystems and habitats; improving the conservation status of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals;
- about €110 million (almost €62 million – EU contribution) for 23 projects to improve climate resilience, climate change mitigation, governance and information;
- €105 million (EU contribution €99 million) for the largest number – 59 projects – on governance and market solutions to accelerate the transition to clean energy.
The European Commission cited examples of projects that will receive funding under the LIFE program:
- The €7.5 million LIFE GRAPhiREC project aims to recycle graphite from battery waste in Italy. It is projected to generate €23.4 million in revenue and save €25 million in production costs.
- The Spanish LIFE POLITEX project is investing €5 million in reducing the impact of the fashion industry on the environment by recycling textile waste into new textiles.
- The DESALIFE project from the Canary Islands, worth €9.8 million, aims to support the sustainability of water resources by extracting fresh water from the Atlantic Ocean. Sea buoys operating on waves, located near the Canary Islands, will pump 1.7 billion liters of desalinated water ashore.
- Two projects, LIFE4AquaticWarbler and LIFE AWOM, cover Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, as well as Ukraine and Senegal with a total budget of almost €24 million, aimed at saving the rare water bird – the warbler.
- IMAGE LIFE and LIFE VINOSHIELD with a total budget of €6.8 million, implemented in Spain, France and Italy, will help world-renowned vineyards and producers of famous cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Camembert de Normandie and Roquefort to become more resistant to the effects of extreme weather phenomenon
- LIFE DiVirtue – a three-year digital learning program worth €1.25 million – will build capacity for a more efficient and innovative construction sector and construction industry. In particular, the project uses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to help construction students and professionals build and renovate zero-emission buildings in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia and Romania.
- The ENERCOM FACILITY project, with a budget of almost €10 million, will provide direct grants to 140 new energy communities across Europe to attract investments in sustainable energy.
At the beginning of October, EcoPolitic reported that The European Commission offers postpone the implementation of the EU Regulation on deforestation for a year. We also reported that the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen urged create a new financial instrument to reward farmers for protecting nature.
