#LIFEis33: celebrating a third of a century of green innovation

Today the LIFE programme —the EU’s flagship initiative to drive improvements in the environment and climate — turns a third of a century old.  Launched in 1992 the programme has supported more than 6 000 ground-breaking projects, striving to make Europe a cleaner, greener and healthier place.

Millions of people across Europe have benefit from improved air quality and are better equipped to cope with the effects of climate change, thanks to the work and collaboration of many projects funded by LIFE, according to the latest performance assessment of the programme. This success has been made possible by the strong commitment of institutions and local actors. LIFE projects have restored nature and protected biodiversity on millions of hectares of land and contributed to Europe-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), alongside increasing the use of renewable energy and boosting energy efficiency.   

This is all thanks to the thousands of businesses, researchers, government departments, local communities and individuals across the EU who have contributed to LIFE’s success. And this year will be no exception. 

In April, the European Commission adopted the work programme for implementing the LIFE Programme in 2025-2027, establishing an overall budget of €2.3 billion for projects tackling circular economy, achieving zero pollution, improving nature and biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, and supporting clean energy. It included a record sum dedicated to climate action, with €790 million for the clean energy transition and strategies to combat droughts and floods caused by extreme weather. 

Meanwhile, this year the Commission is also investing €86 million in 5 long-term strategic projects as part of its 2021-2027 LIFE programme, focusing on climate resilience and water resilience.The multi-year projects in Denmark, Estonia, Poland, Slovenia and Iceland bring together a range of partners to tackle water quality, improve fire and flood protection and reduce GHGs. Last autumn, a further €380 million was awarded to 133 new green projects aimed at boosting nature and biodiversity, enhancing climate resilience and mitigation, accelerating the clean energy transition and contributing to the green economy and improving quality of life for Europe's citizens.  

Looking ahead, the 2025 Call for Proposals is already open, offering the chance for organisations with ideas for conserving nature, protecting the environment, taking climate action or facilitating the clean energy transition to claim a share of €600 million. LIFE is especially interested in supporting innovative collaborative projects that can be replicated and scaled up elsewhere. 

And next month the prestigious LIFE Awards 2025 will mark EU Green Week, recognising 9 outstanding projects completed over the past year. The 9 finalists represent some of the most creative and impactful initiatives across 3 categories – nature protection and biodiversity; circular economy and quality of life; and climate action. A Citizens' Prize will also be awarded to the LIFE project that receives the strongest public support in an online vote, and a Special Recognition Award will go to one LIFE project making a remarkable contribution to the circular economy. 

LIFE's 33rd birthday also coincides with the EU Natura 2000 Day, celebrating 33 years since the adoption of the Habitats directive and the establishment of the largest coordinated network of protected areas in the world . LIFE played a vital role in the establishment of Natura 2000, developing inventories of sites and preparing management plans.  Today many of the projects funded by LIFE involve restoration of Natura 2000 sites or improving the connections between them.  

There are now more than 27 000 protected Natura 2000 sites in Europe. On the EU Natura 2000 Day thousands of people will take part in 'bioblitzes'  – where citizens can participate in observing and recording flora and fauna in the protected areas as part of an ongoing initiative to catalogue Europe's changing biodiversity with the help of citizen science. The bioblitz events are taking place between 17-25 May around the EU. You can find a bioblitz near you to take part.  

To mark Natura 2000 Day, the LIFE Vallées Atlantiques project, which is trying to restore 230 hectares of wetlands and sandy soil environments in the Scheldt watershed in Belgium, is hosting guided tours for members of the public to discover the biodiversity of the Natura 2000 site around domaine regional Solvay in La Hulpe. 

At the same time, members of the LIFE Aquatic Warblers on the Move project will be hosting an event on 21-22 May in Madrid, Spain, bringing together organisations from Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Senegal with the aim of restoring vital habitats for the Aquatic warbler ( Acrocephalus paludicola) - critically endangered species. The Aquatic warbler is Europe's rarest long-distance migratory songbird and has suffered a 95% decline in numbers over the past 100 years. 

EU LIFE Programme’s anniversary will be a busy day of celebration and projects can send their congratulations with a 20–30 seconds video posting them on their social media, highlighting their achievements thanks to the LIFE Programme, using #LIFEis33. Alternatively, projects can share their video via email to CINEA-COMMUNICATION-LIFEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (CINEA-COMMUNICATION-LIFE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) with the subject ‘LIFE is 33’. 

Please join us in wishing LIFE a Happy Birthday and celebrating all it has achieved so far.