Environment – LIFE – Photo EC
(BRUSSELS) – The EU is investing over EUR 233 million in twelve strategic environmental projects benefitting nature and biodiversity, climate change and air quality, the EU Commission announced Thursday.
The Strategic Projects are expected to mobilise substantial additional funds from other EU sources, says the Commission, including agricultural, structural, regional and research funds, as well as from national governments and private sector investment.
The funding will support Bulgaria, Czechia, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Austria, Poland and Finland in reaching their national environmental and climate targets.
On environment, the selected LIFE Strategic Nature Projects (SNAPs) and Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs) will benefit marine ecosystems with plans to designate at least 30% of Ireland’s marine territories as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030 (MPA-LIFE-IRELAND). They will also improve air quality in the Podkarpackie region of Poland while reducing energy poverty and increasing energy efficiency (LIFE Podkarpackie); and improve water quality and management in Lithuania (LIFE SIP Vanduo).
Six other projects have also been selected to boost nature and biodiversity. In Finland, Priodiversity LIFE aims to roll out regional biodiversity action plans as well as capacity building. In northern Italy, LIFE NatConnect2030 will take action at more than 500 sites to enhance biodiversity and reinforce ecological corridors. LIFE SNAP Ireland will target barriers to the implementation of Ireland’s Natura 2000 priority action fund. France’s national biodiversity strategy will engage local authorities and mobilise citizens to foster change in the way we live and produce through LIFE BIODIVFr. In the Czech Republic, PROSPECTIVE LIFE will implement ‘active species conservation tools’ to help reverse the decline of at least 25 species. And in Austria, LIFE AMooRe aims to restore more than 1,400 hectares of peatland including 13 different habitats and 37 high conservation value species.
Regarding climate change, the ACE LIFE project will help Finland become carbon-neutral by 2035 by reducing emissions from agriculture, heavy-duty transport and machinery and phasing out fossil fuels used by small- and medium-sized businesses in industrial processes. LIFE PYRENEES4CLIMA is a cross-border project between Spain, France and Andorra aiming at accelerating climate adaptation in the Pyrenees by improving knowledge and capacity to cope with the impact of climate change on nature, people and the economy. Finally, in Bulgaria, LIFE-SIP CLIMA-SUMP will implement Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) in six municipalities to help achieve zero-emissions mobility on the road towards climate-neutrality.
