Member States to benefit from over €222 million investments for environment, nature and climate action

The Commission has approved an investment package of €222 million from the EU budget to support Europe’s transition to more sustainable and low-carbon future under the LIFE programme for the Environment and Climate Action.The EU funding will mobilise additional investments leading to a total of €379 million going towards 139 new projects in 20 Member States: Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom. €181.9 million will go to projects in the field of environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, and environmental governance and information. In line with the European Commission’s circular economy package, projects will help Member States in their transition to a more circular economy. In the area of climate action, the EU will invest €40.2 million to support climate change adaptation, mitigation and governance and information projects. Selected projects support the EU’s target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. LIFE funding will also help improve the resilience of one of Europe’s busiest waterways, the Scheldt Estuary in Belgium, develop tools to forecast desert dust storms, and counteract the heat island effect in cities. A press releaseavailable and project descriptions can be found here.