EU Commission grants over $414 mn for 132 clean transition projects

The allocated amount represents more than half of the €536 million total investment needs for these projects—the remainder coming from national, regional and local governments, public-private partnerships, businesses and civil society organisations.

The European Commission has granted over €358 million (~$414.2 million) to 132 new projects across Europe under the LIFE Programme for environment and climate action.
It will mobilise €133 million (the EU will provide €76 million) to contribute to circular economy and improving quality of life, with 31 projects backing the transition to a clean, circular, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy.

LIFE projects play a significant role in the Eurioean Union’s (EU) transition to a clean, circular and resilient economy, helping safeguard and restore the EU’s biodiversity, supporting industrial competitiveness and contributing to the EU’s long-term goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050.

This investment will have a lasting impact on the region’s environment, economy, industry and the well-being of all Europeans. The projects will cover all areas of the LIFE programme.

It will mobilise €133 million (of which the EU will provide €76 million) to contribute to circular economy and improving quality of life, with 31 projects supporting the transition towards a clean, circular, energy-efficient, and climate-resilient economy.

It will mobilise €96 million (of which the EU will provide €58 million) to 19 projects to strengthen climate resilience and mitigation efforts.

It will also mobilise €82 million (of which the EU will provide €77 million) to 48 projects aimed at accelerating the clean energy transition, an official release said.

Among the 31 projects selected to promote a more circular economy and quality of life, the €3.6 million LIFE Woodmer project in Sweden will produce biopolymers from waste wood to reduce hazardous chemicals and plastics in packaging and textiles.

The €1.9 million project InBioSoil in Spain uses fungi to clean up soil contaminated with persistent organic pollutants.

To ensure a clean energy transition, the 48 new projects announced today range from citizen-led local energy cooperatives to retrofitting old buildings and installing affordable heat pumps. They include the €1.2 million LIFE SUNACADEMY project, a new renewable energy training academy in France, with a focus on residential and large solar installations.

The €1.8-million NESOIplus project will provide for clean energy solutions and capacity building targeted to remote island communities in the Azores, Canaries and Martinique. And with a budget of €1.6 million, the BAIL-RENOV project will give an increased focus on landlord’s needs all along the energy renovation process in rental properties in France.

Over its 33 years of existence, the LIFE Programme has co-financed more than 6,500 environmental and climate action projects across the EU and associated countries.

The present LIFE programme started in 2021 and runs until 2027, with a budget of €5.43 billion. The grants financed under the LIFE Programme are managed by CINEA, the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)