EnviTech LTD » LIFE +

LIFE +

LIFE+, the Financial Instrument for the Environment, has entered into force with the publication of the Regulation in the Official Journal L149 of 9 June 2007.

04 May 2010The fourth LIFE+ call for proposals has been published on 04 May 2010, with up to €243 million available for co-financing of projects under three headings: nature and biodiversity; environment policy and governance; and information and communication.

Project proposals should be sent to the relevant national authority no later than 01 September 2010. Thereafter, national authorities will send project proposals on to the European Commission by 04 October 2010, and the Commission will check the outline projects against the LIFE+ eligibility criteria and will assess proposals on the basis of the LIFE+ selection and award criteria. Final announcement of the projects chosen for funding is expected in July/August 2011, with projects starting at the earliest on 1 September 2011.

Project promoters are encouraged to make best use of the time available up to the deadline for submission of proposals to national authorities (01 September). Project proposals should be carefully checked to ensure that they are in line with all the criteria set out in the call documents.

Provisional calendar of the LIFE+ 2010 evaluation and selection procedure

1/09/2010Deadline for applicants to send proposals to Member State authorities 
4/10/2010Deadline for the Member States to forward proposals to the European Commission 
10/2010 to
04/2011		Admissibility, exclusion and eligibility, evaluation and revision of the proposals 
07/2011 to
08/2011		Signature of individual grant agreements 
01/09/2011Earliest possible starting date for the 2010 projects

Air

LIFE co-finances innovative projects that explore ways to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of EU policy and legislation on air quality management and the prevention of air pollution.

Energy & climate

LIFE projects on energy and climate include energy production and distribution, renewable energy technologies, energy-efficiency in areas such as industry, services, buildings, transportation, lighting and equipment, as well as the reduction of greenhouse gases.

Environmental management

The LIFE programme supports the implementation of environmental management instruments such as the European Environmental Management Scheme, commonly known as EMAS. It provides beneficiaries with the possibility to test and strengthen approaches to managing their environmental activities, products and services and helps them to achieve environmental obligations and performance goals.

Industry & production

The LIFE programme aims to reduce the environmental impact of goods and services. Numerous LIFE projects cover an extremely broad area within the field of “Industry & production”, ranging from the demonstration of innovative clean technologies in various types of industry and other economic sectors, to the development and optimisation of methods for monitoring and managing environmental impacts.

Urban environment & quality of life

Following the framework set by the Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment, the LIFE programme supported a number of projects directly related to the urban environment and quality of life.

Soil, land-use & agriculture

Numerous LIFE projects focus on soil and landscape protection, desertification prevention, on land-use development and planning including transport planning and noise-abatement, as well as on the minimisation of environmental impacts of agricultural activities.

Waste

In the waste sector, LIFE projects play an important role in developing and testing solutions to specific technological challenges, particularly with regard to waste treatment in the manufacturing sector. Integrated methods for better waste management, awareness-raising campaigns, better ways of using resources and treating waste are just some of the issues addressed by LIFE.

Water

LIFE projects support the implementation of EU water policy by addressing a wide range of issues, such as urban water management, industrial wastewater treatment, river basin monitoring and improving groundwater quality.