European Commission invests €222m in renewables and green projects

The European Commission (EC) has approved an investment package of €222.7 million from the EU budget to support Europe's transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future.

The EU funding will spur additional investments leading to a total of €398.6 million to be invested into 144 new projects in 23 member states.

The support comes from the LIFE programme, the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental, nature conservation, and climate action projects.

Out of the total investment, €323.5 million will go to projects in the field of environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, and environmental governance and information.

"I am delighted to see that this year again our LIFE programme will support many innovative projects to address our common environmental challenges,” commissioner for the environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, Karmenu Vella, said.

“LIFE-funded projects use relatively little funding and with simple ideas to create profitable green businesses that deliver on the transition to a low-carbon and circular economy," she added.

According to commissioner for climate action and energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, Europe must now deliver on its promises, with the Paris Agreement in effect.

“These projects will create the right conditions to promote innovative solutions and spread best practices in reducing emission and adapting to climate change across the EU. In this way they support the EU's implementation of the Paris Agreement," he said.

In the field of climate action, the investment will support climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, and climate governance and information projects totalling €75.1 million.

Selected projects support the EU's target to reduce GHG emissions by at least 40 % by 2030, contributing to the shift towards a low carbon and climate resilient economy.

These projects include the BIOHEC-LIFE project by Gecco, a French biodiesel company that aims to develop a circular economy around used cooking oil (UCO), which will be processed from food and catering industry waste into biofuel.