Climate and Environment: Commission welcomes the final approval of the new LIFE Programme with €5.4 billion budget

On Friday, the European Parliament officially approved the deal with Member States on LIFE Programme, which will allow it to invest €5.4 billion in climate and environmental projects over the next seven years. The LIFE programme is among the EU funding programmes for which the Commission proposed the largest proportional increase for the period 2021-2027. Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “I would like to thank the European Parliament for its great support for LIFE throughout the 3-year negotiation. For more than 30 years, our LIFE programme has supported thousands of iconic projects. With its new and significantly boosted €5.4 billion budget, it will help us deliver major EU Green Deal initiatives, for a toxic-free, circular and climate-neutral Europe.” The total budget allocated for LIFE – the only programme at EU-level solely dedicated to the environment and climate – will be split between €3.5 billion for environmental activities and €1.9 billion for climate action. The EU programme will contribute to making the necessary shift towards a clean, circular, energy-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, to protect and improve the quality of the environment, and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. With its contribution of 64% of its budget to the target for climate financing, it is one of the largest contributors to climate objectives across all EU programmes. The Commission will ensure that LIFE projects especially support Member States with so far low participation. Improving the national contact points will hence contribute to a geographical balance across the EU. More information on LIFE projects.