EU invests over EUR 390 million in 135 new climate and environment projects

The European Commission today awarded over EUR 390 million to 135 new projects across Europe under the LIFE programme for the environment and climate action. The amount is more than half of the projects' total investment needs of EUR 579 million. The rest comes from national, regional and local authorities, public-private partnerships, businesses, project partners and civil society organisations. LIFE projects play a significant role in the EU's transition to a clean, circular and resilient economy, helping with preparedness and resilience to extreme weather and with the EU's goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. The projects cover all areas of the programme: - Over EUR 223 million (EU contribution over EUR 151 million) for 29 nature and biodiversity projects restoring and protecting natural habitats and conserving the species that live there. - Nearly EUR 163 million (EU contribution nearly EUR 91 million) for 36 projects contributing to a clean, circular, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy while improving quality of life. - Over EUR 102 million (EU contribution over EUR 61 million) for 26 projects strengthening climate resilience through adaptation and mitigation. - Over EUR 91 million (EU contribution nearly EUR 87 million) for 44 projects accelerating the clean energy transition. Project examples The 29 nature projects come from 16 Member States and range from LIFE COCON (EUR 9.2 million), restoring coastal sand dunes in Belgium, to a EUR 12.6 million project in Bulgaria conserving globally threatened diving ducks along the Black Sea-Mediterranean flyway. Others will protect rare species such as the sand jurinea (Czechia), the Saimaa ringed seal (Finland), the Pyrenean desman (Spain) and several vulture species (LIFE for VULTURES: Romania, EUR 7.6 million, and Bulgaria, EUR 5.2 million). In Romania, LIFE for VULTURES aims to bring back the griffon vulture and the cinereous vulture to the South-Western Carpathians. All vulture species are currently considered extinct in Romania, with no breeding, migratory or wintering populations in the country. After building the necessary release and feeding infrastructure, the project plans to reintroduce 170-184 griffon vultures and 24-40 cinereous vultures, alongside anti-poison dog teams, patrolling and surveillance, work on threats such as power lines and lead poisoning, and an awareness programme with local communities. The 36 circular economy and quality-of-life projects, from 13 Member States, include LIFE RESHAPE-D (EUR 25.8 million), reducing flood risk in Belgium's Dender Valley by restoring natural water management processes; LIFE ECOPRESSURE in Slovakia (EUR 4.4 million), improving air quality and reducing microplastic release with real-time tyre inflation technology; and LIFE Waterhub in the Netherlands (EUR 11.1 million), demonstrating an innovative, flexible wastewater treatment system. Among the 26 climate resilience projects, CARENA LIFE in Germany (EUR 10 million) will promote nature-based carbon removal techniques, LIFE FLOW in Ireland (EUR 4.4 million) will integrate nature-based solutions against heavy rainfall and storms, and LIFE POSTFIRE (EUR 5.9 million) will support the Mediterranean region in recovering after wildfires. The 44 new multinational clean-energy projects include the LIFE EUCF 3.0 City Facility (EUR 15.8 million), covering all EU countries plus Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Ukraine and giving local authorities financial and technical help to invest in sustainable energy. Background For over 34 years, LIFE has co-financed more than 6,700 environment and climate projects across the EU and associated countries. The 135 projects announced today were chosen from a record 1,095 applications to the 2025 LIFE calls, and funding allocated through LIFE rose by 9% compared with last year. The current LIFE programme runs from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of EUR 5.43 billion; grants are managed by CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.