The European Commission has granted more than €390 million to 135 new projects under LIFE, the EU programme for environment and climate action. The EU money covers more than half of the projects’ €579 million in total investment needs; national, regional and local governments, businesses and civil society organisations put in the rest. The projects were picked from a record 1,095 applications, and LIFE funding rose by 9% on the previous year.
Where the money goes
| Strand | Projects | Total | From the EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature and biodiversity | 29 | over €223 million | over €151 million |
| Circular economy and quality of life | 36 | nearly €163 million | nearly €91 million |
| Climate adaptation and mitigation | 26 | over €102 million | over €61 million |
| Clean energy transition | 44 | over €91 million | nearly €87 million |
What it means for cities
The largest single item for local government is the €15.8 million LIFE EUCF City Facility 3.0. It responds to a gap the Commission describes plainly: municipalities often have climate and energy plans but no resources to turn them into projects that investors will fund. The facility will help municipalities and regions in 32 countries develop 185 investment concepts.
Several projects name cities we follow:
- Bucharest and Budapest are among five cities where LIFE TALA-IMPACT will prepare integrated heating and cooling plans, with Zagreb, Skopje and Podgorica, covering nearly five million residents.
- Budapest will host one of the one-stop shops for urban energy communities that LIFE ECOss opens, with Lutsk and Sofia. Romanian and Croatian cities are lined up to test the model next.
- Bucharest is one of the places where LIFE-RENEW will test a handbook for rebuilding after floods and fires so that the same risks are not built back in.
- Amsterdam is turning urban landscaping waste into biochar (LIFE NATURECDR).
- Barcelona: two companies will reuse, upcycle and recycle discarded municipal uniforms (LIFE DPP-TEX).
- Turin: partners will test rice-straw and wool insulation panels in labs and buildings (LIFE ERICE).
Projects in Romania
LIFE for VULTURES (€7.6 million) aims to bring Griffon and Cinereous vultures back to the South-Western Carpathians, where vultures are currently extinct in Romania. LIFE REFAG will restore bison and vulture populations across Natura 2000 sites in the Făgăraș mountains. Romania is also one of six countries in LIFE CONNECT, which strengthens support for energy communities, and one of four in LIFE SKILLSBOOST SEE, which will train 4,000 professionals for clean-energy construction.
What cities can do now
The European City Facility’s eighth call opens on 26 October and closes on 21 December 2026 at 17:00 Brussels time. It offers 62 local governments €60,000 each to plan energy efficiency or heating and cooling investments.
Background
LIFE has co-financed more than 6,700 environmental and climate projects in over 34 years. The current programme runs from 2021 to 2027 with a budget of €5.43 billion and is managed by CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency.