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Ukraine joined the LIFE Programme for climate and environment. What kind of program it this and what are the advantages of participating in it for Ukraine?

LIFE is an EU financial instrument for environmental protection and financing of environmental and climate measures. For 30 years of its existence, the program has co-financed more than 5,600 environmental protection projects in the EU and beyond.
 
☑️ For Ukraine, participation in the program is extremely important, because it is an opportunity to preserve our biodiversity during the war, restore ecosystems, and prevent water and soil pollution. The budget of the program for the period 2021-2027 is about 5.4 billion euros, which is 0.48% of the total EU budget. And now Ukraine can submit projects and receive financing from these funds to restore the environment from the consequences of the war.
Also, for Ukraine, participation in the LIFE program is an opportunity to implement environmental projects, learning by doing preparation and implementation of quality projects according to already developed European procedures in the field of environmental protection. This is a chance to gain valuable experience in the process of reforming the work of our environmental funds — both state and local.
 
➡️ In the short term, the LIFE program will be able to support Ukraine's recovery efforts through needs analysis and mobilization and capacity development of various actors to clean up soils and water bodies with the help of ecological solutions. In the medium and long term, as in other LIFE countries, projects can be aimed at developing and demonstrating eco-innovative methods and approaches, promoting best practices and behavioral changes, etc.
According to Ruslan Strilets, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine already has more than 15 specific proposals that will be formalized into relevant projects for consideration by the LIFE program. Among the priorities are the restoration of rivers, the development of a protection fund, the construction of centers for the rehabilitation of birds and wild animals, the renaturalization of ecosystems, etc.
 
Goals
Contribute to the development and implementation of Community environmental policy and legislation, in particular on the integration of the environment into other policies and sustainable development.
The program occupies a niche between EU programs for research and innovation and large-scale funding programs. In this way, LIFE bridges the gap between research and policy implementation by addressing the externalities associated with environmental and climate innovation by testing and demonstrating practical solutions.
 
👉 How the programme works
Every year, a call of proposal is launched (published on the LIFE website), which consists of two areas:
1️⃣ Environment - funds innovative environmental actions such as water pollution control, waste recycling, etc., and includes nature conservation and biodiversity projects (including the Natura 2000 network), environmental management and information
2️⃣ Climate - finances projects of adaptation to climate change and elimination of its consequences, as well as projects of management and information and educational activities.
A bottom-up approach is used, i.e. project managers have to create their project and apply for LIFE funding. Projects to be financed must benefit the European Union, contribute to sustainable development and provide solutions to major environmental problems.
 
➡️ The main stages of the programme
The LIFE programme has been in operation since 1992 and since then there have been four complete phases of the program (LIFE I: 1992-1995, LIFE II: 1996-1999, LIFE III: 2000-2006 and LIFE +: 2007-2013). During this period, LIFE co-financed more than 5,500 projects in EU countries and beyond, contributing approximately 5.4 billion to environmental protection.
 
The main tasks of LIFE for 2021–2027
🔹 promote the transition to a clean, circular, energy-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, including through the transition to clean energy
🔹 protect and improve the quality of the environment
🔹 stop the loss of biodiversity, thereby promoting sustainable development
5.45 billion euros were allocated for the implementation of the programme. This is 60% more than in the previous period. 3.5 billion euros will go to environmental projects, and the remaining 1.9 billion euros will be allocated to climate measures.
 
The programme includes four subprograms:
🍀 Nature and biodiversity (2.150 billion euros)
🍀 Circular economy and quality of life (1.350 billion euros)
🍀 Mitigation and adaptation to climate change (950 million euros)
🍀 Transition to clean energy (1 billion euros)
 
How to apply?
Applications shall be submitted through the Funding and Tender Opportunities Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/.../opportunities/portal/screen/home. More information on how to apply: https://ec.europa.eu/.../h2020.../other/event210527.htm
Deadlines for submission of additional projects within the framework of Calls for Proposals 2022 - October 4, 2022
 
Who can apply?
👉 public or private legal entities registered in the EU or associated with it in another country or territory;
👉 third country associated with the LIFE program;
👉 a legal entity created in accordance with the legislation of the Union, or any international organization.
Individuals are not eligible to apply.
 
Success projects financed by the program in different countries.
📍 For 30 years of operation, the "LIFE" program has co-financed more than 5,600 environmental protection projects in the EU and beyond.
🔹 For example, nature protection projects in Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, which contributed to the restoration of natural ecosystems.
🔹 In France, as part of the project, measures were introduced to improve water quality in the Pays de la Loire region (more details about the project https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/.../pub.../project/details/4856).
🔹 Another project to clean up the Polish Piłytsy River catchment is being implemented with the help of "blue-green infrastructure" ideas and other initiatives (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/.../pub.../project/details/3002)
☑️ Last year, program funding was increased by 20% to help Belgium, Germany, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia meet their environmental goals. 12 large-scale environmental and climate projects were implemented in 11 Member States in six areas: nature, water, air, waste, climate change mitigation and adaptation to climate change.
🔹 For example, a project in Ireland is restoring about 10,000 hectares of peatland, which has a high carbon storage potential, an area roughly the size of Dublin. LIFE funding is helping the Portuguese Azores implement a regional climate change adaptation program across nine islands.
🔹 In France and Italy, the LIFE RE Mida project was implemented, the goal of which was the implementation of innovative methods of reducing landfill gas emissions in the Mediterranean regions. More than €510,000 was allocated for implementation (https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects/life-re-mida_en).
In Finland, a LIFE-funded project helped land-use planners and policy-makers to make environmentally, economically and socio-culturally sustainable land-use decisions. Within the framework of LIFE, almost 1.5 million euros were allocated for this.
👉 Many of the implemented projects set themselves educational tasks. Among them, for example, LIFE DEBAG (https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects/life-debag_en), a project implemented in Greece with a budget of more than 750 million euros. As part of the project, an educational campaign was organized to reduce the use of plastic bags in the marine environment. It reached more than 65,000 people, and the project team produced 12,000 reusable cotton bags, which were distributed free of charge to the local population. Awareness-raising activities such as beach clean-ups were carried out and informational materials were produced for every school on the island.
🔹 Another project - PREPAIR (https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/featured-projects/prepair_en) in Italy and Slovenia, aimed to monitor and improve air quality for 23 million people in the Po Valley. When the pandemic began, the team helped another Italian project investigate the link between air pollution and the spread of COVID-19, as well as the impact of quarantine on air pollution and greenhouse gases. Almost 10 million euros were allocated for the project.
 
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