EU ups green recovery investments to €121 m

18 / 02 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Commission announced an investment of €121 million for new integrated projects under the LIFE program for the Environment and Climate Action.

This funding – increased by 20% compared to last year – will promote the green recovery and help Belgium, Germany, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia to reach their green targets.

These integrated projects are expected to channel significant additional funds, helping Member States to make use of other EU funding sources, including agricultural, structural, regional and research funds, as well as national funds and private sector investment.

Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans said “To deliver the European Green Deal, we need to start mobilizing the unprecedented resources made available for Europe’s green transition in our long-term budget and recovery fund. These LIFE integrated projects support concrete action to protect the environment, restore nature, and support biodiversity. With this investment we help countries and regions to tackle the climate and biodiversity crises and build a just and sustainable future.”

Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius added “I’m excited to see how this new investment will help green the economy, bring back nature and biodiversity and improve resilience to the changing climate in these 11 countries. LIFE integrated projects enable Member States to make a real difference to the environment and people’s lives, by enabling long-term strategies with far more money and capacity than with traditional LIFE projects.”

The Integrated projects improve citizens’ quality of life by helping Member States comply with EU legislation in six areas; nature, water, air, waste, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation. They support plans required to implement environmental and climate legislation in a coordinated manner and on a large territorial scale.

The LIFE investment announced today is set to channel significant complementary funding from other EU sources, including agricultural, regional and structural funds, Horizon 2020, as well as national and regional actors and private investors.

Projects in the field of Nature Conservation include five nature projects in Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany.

These projects are meant to help restore natural ecosystems, in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, by improving the management of the Natura 2000 network and better connecting its protected areas.

Various habitats and species stand to benefit, including forests, rivers, farmlands, grasslands, peatlands, aquatic species and birds.

As for projects aiming to support the EU Water Framework Directive, a project in France will introduce measures to improve water quality in the Pays de la Loire region.

Another project will help clean up Poland’s Pilica river catchment area through blue and green infrastructure pilot actions and other initiatives.

A Belgian project will also be launched to reduce plastic waste by encouraging sustainability, from increased product lifetimes to prevention, reuse and recycling of waste. This project is meant to support the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

A project will also be introduced to help reduce Hungary’s reliance on brown coal within the framework of efforts to mitigate climate change. LIFE funding will help authorities to gradually decarbonize the Mátra Power Plant, by replacing lignite-fired power generation units with low-carbon technology solutions.

LIFE will also help the Małopolska region in Poland to implement its Regional Action Plan for Climate and Energy to guarantee a just transition.

A project in Ireland will restore around 10,000 hectares of peatlands which have high carbon storage potential – an area roughly the size of Dublin.

LIFE funding will also help Portugal’s Azores islands become more resilient to climate change. The project team will help to implement the regional climate change adaption program on the nine islands.