LIFE

LIFE is the European Union’s programme for environment and climate. Its official name is the Programme for the Environment and Climate Action, running in the 2021 to 2027 programme period. The European Commission is responsible; it is delivered by the executive agency CINEA. What you receive is a grant — not a loan and not a tax scheme.

Unlike many funding programmes, LIFE does not finance individual projects only. Alongside project grants there are operating grants for non-profit organisations and framework partnerships. Funding is awarded through calls, each with its own theme, budget and deadline.

What stands out is how the transition itself is financed. LIFE backs environmental, climate and energy transition projects with direct grants, so high transition costs do not rest on your company alone. For the 2026 calls, €601.5 million is available.

Legal entities can apply. That includes companies, organisations and consortia — partnerships of several partners. Some calls are aimed explicitly at non-profit organisations and at framework partners.

Your organisation must be established in a European Union member state. In some calls, applicants from associated countries are also eligible. Individuals cannot apply.

What is also decisive is that your project fits the theme of an open call. Which calls are open and which themes they cover can be seen on the European Union’s Funding & Tenders Portal, where each call sets out its conditions and deadline. Check that first, because theme and deadline are set by the call, not by your planning.

What is funded are projects in the LIFE theme areas: environment, nature conservation, climate and the energy transition, referred to in the documents as the clean energy transition. Each call describes its theme precisely, and your project must fit within that scope. Alongside the project calls, LIFE supports the ongoing work of non-profit organisations through operating grants.

What is reimbursed are the direct costs of your project. These include staff costs and material costs for delivery, as well as the preparation, coordination and execution of the project. External expertise and outsourcing are common and eligible in project calls, insofar as the call permits them.

Check which costs your call excludes before drawing up the budget. In some calls, financial support to third parties is explicitly not permitted.

You receive a grant you do not repay. It is paid out as reimbursement of your eligible project costs.

The funding rate is set out in the documents of the individual call. In a climate call of the 2026 round it is 60% of the eligible costs.

Your funding level follows from three figures: your eligible costs, your call’s funding rate and the theme’s budget. Those budgets differ in size: for the energy transition, €85.5 million is available in the 2026 round, and €60.0 million for one climate call.