The latest funding to be announced by the EU LIFE Programme goes to 5 multi-year, multi-million euro projects in Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia and Iceland. Between them, they will significantly contribute to Europe's ambition of becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. 3 of the 5 projects will support the recently-announced European Water Resilience Strategy which aims to fix the water cycle, use water efficiently and ensure access to clean and affordable freshwater. The strategy promotes the use of public-private investment in water technology and cross-border water infrastructure.
The latest round of funding is part of a wider €5.4 billion investment in the 2021-2027 LIFE programme. By taking a long-term, strategic and integrated approach, the 5 projects will drive change across the whole of Europe, and will support several key EU strategies and directives, including the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Water Framework Directive, the Nature Restoration Law, Air Quality Directive, Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the clean energy transition.
In Denmark, 27 municipalities will take climate action through LIFE ACT to slash municipal CO₂ emissions and climate-proof 2 900 km of coastline; LIFE Pom GOZilla.PL will create a circular economy to tackle waste and landfill in Poland; in Estonia, LIFE SIP WET-EST will improve water quality, control pollution and restore wetlands; while LIFE4ADAPT in Slovenia aims to reduce droughts, forest fires and floods. Meanwhile in Iceland, LIFE ICEWATER will bring government agencies, researchers and municipalities together to improve water quality and conserve scarce water resources.
The Commission also adopted today the work programme for the implementation of the LIFE Programme in 2025-2027. It sets out key strategies, actions and funding opportunities with the aim to drive Europe's transition to a clean, circular, competitive and climate-resilient economy. The work programme establishes an overall budget of €2.3 billion for projects tackling circular economy, zero pollution, nature and biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy.
