The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action. The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and legislation by co-financing projects with European added value.
The European Commission (DG Environment and DG Climate Action) manages the LIFE programme. The Commission has delegated the implementation of many components of the LIFE programme to the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). External selection, monitoring and communication teams provide assistance to the Commission and EASME. The European Investment Bank will manage the two new financial instruments (NCFF and PF4EE).
Within the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity strand, specific funding is targeted at Biodiversity, a LIFE project category for innovative or demonstration projects that tackle wider biodiversity issues. These can range from the creation of green infrastructure, such as species corridors, to climate change adaptation measures and the removal of invasive species. As well as the tens of millions of euros directly invested in Biodiversity projects since 2007, many other LIFE projects have indirectly contributed to the EU’s goal of halting biodiversity loss.