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LIFE Programme - 2019 Call: Over €280 million in EU funding for environment, nature and climate action projects / 2 projects approved for Greece

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The European Commission has approved an investment package of more than €280 million from the EU budget for over 120 new LIFE programme projects. This EU funding will trigger total investments of nearly €590 million to help meet these projects' ambitious goals for environment, nature, and climate action. This amount represents a 37% rise compared to last year.

The projects will help to achieve the European Green Deal objectives by supporting the EU Biodiversity Strategy and the Circular Economy Action Plan, contributing to the green recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, and helping Europe become a climate-neutral continent by 2050, among others. Many of the new projects are cross-country projects involving several Member States.

Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal said: “The European Green Deal is our roadmap to a green, inclusive, and resilient Europe. LIFE projects epitomise these values as they bring together Member States for the protection of our environment, the restoration of nature, and support of biodiversity. I'm looking forward to the results of these new projects.”

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries added: “LIFE projects can really make a tangible difference on the ground. They bring solutions to some of the most serious challenges of our time such as climate change, loss of nature and unsustainable use of resources. If replicated across the EU at speed and scale, they can help the EU achieve its ambitious EU Green Deal goals and contribute to building a greener and more resilient Europe for all of us, but also for generations to come.”

Approximately €220 million are allocated to a wide range of projects on environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, and environmental governance and information and over €60 million to support climate change mitigation, adaptation and governance and information projects.

This includes major investments aimed at protecting and enhancing Europe's biodiversity. Projects such as restoring peatlands – unique ecosystems home to many highly adapted, rare and threatened species – will contribute to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Peatlands are also an important carbon sink, and can boost Europe's drive toward climate neutrality by 2050.

The LIFE projects also support reducing energy consumption in new buildings, in line with the recently launched EU Renovation Wave Strategy. Funds will go into developing universal and affordable low-carbon solution that could reduce energy consumption in all new buildings by up to 40%.

Funds will also go towards projects that prevent food waste and lead to improved waste management in line with the new EU's Circular Economy Action Plan.

Financial resources are also being earmarked for numerous projects that will help energy-intensive industries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Commission's ambitious Climate Target Plan and our climate neutrality objective.  

The numbers in brief:

  • 47 LIFE environment and resource efficiency projects will mobilise €208 million, of which the EU will provide €76 million. These projects cover actions in five areas: air, environment and health, resource efficiency and circular economy, waste, and water.
  • 8 LIFE environmental governance and information projects of nearly €17 million with just over €9 million EU contribution will raise awareness of environmental issues among the wider public and help public authorities to promote, monitor and enforce compliance with EU environmental legislation.
  • 16 LIFE climate change mitigation projects will have a total budget of approximately €86 million, of which just under €32 million from the EU.
  • 15 LIFE climate change adaptation projects will mobilise €50 million, €26 million of which will come from EU funds.
  • 3 LIFE climate governance and information projects will improve governance and raise awareness about climate change with a total budget of €7 million of which the EU is contributing just under €4 million.

Project descriptions and more details can be found in the Annex to this press release.

For Greece:
Two projects have been approved for Greece:
(a) LIFE VISIONS,
(b) LIFE STEMMA ATHOS.

Specifically:
- Environment and Resource Efficiency
Demonstrating innovative photocatalytic paints for cleaner indoor air (LIFE VISIONS)
Photocatalysis is considered the most innovative, economical and promising technology for improving indoor air quality. The LIFE VISIONS project team will develop a solution to achieve healthy indoor environments and deliver energy savings in the building sector. They will commercialise an innovative photocatalytic nanomaterial that degrades air pollutants using visible light, an advance on existing technologies that operate using UV light. The team, coordinated by the Greek National Centre for Scientific Research, will establish a start-up company to produce photocatalytic paints containing this material, under the name ‘Photo-Paints'. Real scale applications of the photo-paints produced will be implemented and tested in two buildings located on the premises of the Associated beneficiary Fort in Crete. These “demo houses” will offer real conditions to evaluate the most promising photo-paint in terms of air pollutants' degradation and energy efficiency. The technology provides a solution that can be more widely implemented, due to its cost-effectiveness, which contributes to national and EU efforts to promote green technologies and improve indoor air quality.

- Climate Change Adaptation
Reducing wildfire risks in monastic communities and beyond (LIFE STEMMA ATHOS)
Climate change is expected to bring more and longer periods of drought to northern Greece. In the Mount Athos region, wildfires are easily ignited and can lead to major natural disasters. With this project, the Holy Community of Mount Athos will reduce the risk of wildfires and improve the response to outbreaks in Mount Athos. With this project, the Holy Community of Mount Athos will reduce the risk of wildfires and improve the response to outbreaks in Mount Athos. For instance, some plant materials that could fuel wildfires will be removed in a pilot area containing Aleppo pine and shrubland, while the creation of open areas will provide firebreaks. Rainwater harvesting systems and water supply infrastructure will also be developed. Thanks to the project, the local ecosystem's resilience to climate change-related stresses, such as droughts, diseases and pests, will also increase. It will also increase the local ecosystem's resilience to climate change-related stresses, such as droughts, diseases and pests. The project's achievements and best practices will be shared locally and with monastic communities and different sectors in other EU countries.

Background - LIFE Programme:
The projects were selected among more than 1250 applications submitted under the LIFE 2019 call for proposals, published in April 2019. The LIFE programme is the EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It has been running since 1992 and has co-financed more than 5 500 projects across the EU and in third countries. At any given moment, some 1 100 projects are in progress. The budget for 2014–2020 is set at €3.4 billion in current prices. For the next long-term EU budget 2021-2027, the Commission is proposing to increase LIFE funding by almost 60%.

For more information:
Annex: Short summaries of awarded projects from the LIFE 2019 call for proposals
LIFE Programme

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_2052