On the 2nd of April 2020, the European Commission has launched its call for project proposals under the LIFE programme. The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action created in 1992. The current LIFE Programme was set up by the Regulation (EU) 1293/2013 and the budget for the period 2014-2020 is set at €3.4 billion in current prices. The main objective of the programme is the implementation and the enforcement of EU climate and environmentally policy and legislation according to the 7th environmental action plan. The European Investment Bank manages the financial instruments of the programme which are the Natural Capital Financing Facility (NCFF) and the Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE) instrument.

LIFE Programme aims to contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal and is divided into two sub-programmes, one for environment (representing 75% of the overall financial envelope) and one for climate action (representing 25% of the envelop

The majority of the projects are the traditional projects which can be coordinated by any legal entity in EU, such as public institutions, businesses and NGOs. In contrast to other EU Funding Programmes, LIFE projects are very flexible, and the applicant can decide to run the project on his own or to join with partners from his own or another country. Furthermore the integrated projects have a regional, multi-regional, national or trans-national dimension.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, all the deadlines for proposals  are being extended by one month. Furthermore private entities are no longer obliged to launch open tenders for contracts above 135 000 euros and projects can financially support local and small initiatives. The most important is that a under a special section which has been integrated into the guidelines, start-up companies have the chance to be invited by larger companies to participate in the programme in partnership with them. Otherwise they could not have the opportunity to be qualified as a coordinating beneficiary due to their limited financial capacity.

On 30 April 2020, the European Commission is organising also an event for potential applicants to present the project proposals. The event is online and the applicants can register here.

For the next EU budget period  2021-2017, the Commission proposed to increase funding by almost 60% for the LIFE programme, exceeding €5.4 billion. Furthemore the LIFE will be more oriented n climate change, energy transition, circular economy and biodiversity.

For information on how B2EU Consulting could support your organisation in developing a funding strategy and in unlocking different financing tools for your operation in the development sector, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@b2eu-consulting.com