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Funding from the EU LIFE Programme explained for first-time applicants

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s dedicated funding instrument for environment and climate action. To date, LIFE has already co-financed thousands of projects across Europe, promoting environmental protection and sustainable development.

If you are an environmental organisation considering applying for the first time, the application process can feel complex at first glance. This article provides an overview of the LIFE Programme, common challenges for first-time applicants and practical guidance to navigate the process successfully.

Table of Contents

First time applying for the EU LIFE Programme? What you should know

The LIFE Programme is structured into four sub-programmes:

Nature and Biodiversity: Focuses on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, and supporting the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

Circular Economy and Quality of Life: Targets waste reduction, air and water quality, as well as measures to protect, restore and improve the environment.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: Aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build climate resilience.

Clean Energy Transition: Supports the shift toward renewable energy and increased energy efficiency.

Projects can range from pilot and demonstration initiatives to best practices and policy solutions. The programme is open to public bodies, NGOs, businesses and other entities based in EU Member States or countries that have association agreements with the LIFE Programme.

Within the LIFE Programme, projects can be implemented by multiple partners, or by single beneficiaries.

For more detailed information about the EU LIFE Programme’s structure and the types of projects you may also refer to my previous article “Applying for project funding from the LIFE Programme”.

Benefits of applying for the LIFE Programme

For environmental organisations and other entities working in the environment and climate field, LIFE offers a remarkable opportunity to advance conservation work, support ecosystem restoration, foster circular economy initiatives and scale community-based solutions to environmental challenges.

LIFE funding can help your organisation to:

  • Pilot new environmental technologies or methodologies
  • Test solutions that contribute directly to EU Green Deal objectives
  • Generate measurable, replicable results that inspire broader change
  • Scale up innovative conservation and sustainability approaches
  • Strengthen the visibility and credibility of your work
  • Build lasting European partnerships and cross-border collaborations

In short, LIFE funding can help your organisation to deliver impactful, solution-oriented environmental projects with a European (or even global) relevance.

Common challenges first-time applicants face

Despite its benefits, preparing a LIFE proposal for the first time can be overwhelming. These are some typical hurdles environmental organisations often encounter:

  • Understanding eligibility and focus areas: Applicants may struggle to align their environmental project ideas with the specific objectives and criteria of the relevant sub-programme and Call.

  • Interpreting jargon and guidance documents: EU Calls use technical and policy-specific language that may be unfamiliar, especially for smaller NGOs.

  • Estimating project budgets and co-funding requirements: LIFE projects typically require 40% own co-financing for Standard Action Projects (co-financing rates vary according to the programme strand and type of project), which can be challenging for resource-constrained organisations.

  • Demonstrating EU added value: The EU looks for projects that contribute to EU policy objectives and offer replicable or transferable results.

  • Structuring the proposal clearly: Presenting your idea in a structured, logical and persuasive way is critical to the success of your application.

Being aware of these challenges will help you address them effectively and begin your application in a clear, structured way.

Steps to get started

Once your environmental organisation is ready to apply for funding through the LIFE Programme, follow these key steps to help you prepare:

  • Read the Call documents thoroughly: Start with the official Call text, guidance documents and evaluation criteria. Make sure your idea fits the scope of the sub-programme and Call, and addresses the environmental priorities.

  • Define your project concept: Outline the environmental challenges you are addressing, your objectives, the activities you plan to implement and the expected results. Be ready to explain how your work aligns with EU environmental policy goals.

  • Check the budget and co-financing rules: LIFE projects typically require co-funding, and this should be considered from the beginning. Make sure your organisation can commit the required resources or identify possible co-funders.

  • Look at past projects: The LIFE project database includes a great collection of previously funded environmental projects. Reviewing these can help you understand what has been funded before, how projects are structured, and avoid submitting a project that is too similar to one already funded.

Writing a strong proposal

When you begin writing your proposal, keep the following principles in mind:

  • Explain your environmental project in plain, well-understandable language, especially when describing the problem it addresses, the solution and the expected impact of its activities. Aim for clear, concise language that communicates what you want to do, why it matters and what you hope to achieve.

  • Make sure there is a clear link between your problem statement, objectives, activities and results. Example: If your project addresses marine pollution, start by describing the problem (e.g. high levels of plastic waste on coastal areas), address the problem with specific objectives (e.g. reduce coastal plastic waste by 30%), outline concrete activities (e.g. new technology or methods to address the problem) and explain the expected results (e.g. cleaner habitats, increased community engagement).

  • Highlight how your project contributes to the EU’s environmental and climate objectives, such as the Green Deal, Circular Economy Action Plan or Biodiversity Strategy. What is expected of you here is to explain how your results can be transferred, scaled or replicated in other regions or sectors. This shows the wider relevance of your project beyond the immediate context and adds to its strategic value at the EU level. Example: Development of toolkits or policy recommendations that can be adopted elsewhere too.

  • Technical soundness: Provide evidence, data and a realistic implementation plan. This can include results from previous pilot projects, scientific studies, environmental impact assessments, stakeholder consultations, or relevant baseline data collected at the local, regional or national level.

  • Key performance indicators (KPIs): Clearly define how success will be measured, using specific, measurable and realistic indicators that align with your project goals and expected impact. Examples: A project aiming to improve biodiversity might use KPIs such as the number of native plant species reintroduced, square meters of green space created, or community members engaged in local activities.

  • Sustainability: Demonstrate how your project’s outcomes will be sustained beyond the funding period. This could include integration into local, regional or national policies, long-term financing commitments and partnerships that continue beyond the project’s end. Showing that your impact will last after the project has been completed is a key requirement and will be assessed during the project evaluation process.

From first step to first success

Applying for the EU LIFE Programme for the first time can seem complex, but it is also an opportunity to implement your project idea, strengthen your strategy and connect with a broader European community of environmental actors. With the right preparation, guidance and mindset, first-time applicants are well-positioned to succeed.

Would you like to get support with your LIFE application? Don’t hesitate to contact me to get to know the different options.

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Astrid Mechel - EU Funding Consulting

Author: Astrid Mechel

https://eufundingconsulting.eu

Hello, I’m Astrid Mechel and I’ve been working in EU funding and policy for over 20 years, supporting organisations in securing grants across various fields – from social inclusion and environmental sustainability to research and innovation. Through workshops, trainings and hands-on support, I’ve helped many small and medium-sized entities – including nonprofits, public bodies, and companies – take their first confident steps into the EU funding landscape, and apply for EU grants.

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Applying for project funding from the LIFE programme

Applying for project funding from the LIFE programme

This article was last updated on 9 June 2025. 

LIFE is the EU Programme for the Environment and Climate Action. It supports projects that contribute to environmental protection, nature conservation and climate action. There are a number of opportunities for project funding for different types of organisations, read on to discover what is being funded and how you can apply.

Table of Contents

What is being funded through the LIFE Programme?

The EU’s LIFE Programme offers a variety of funding opportunities in the area of environmental protection, sustainable development and combating climate change. Project beneficiaries can be public and private organisations including NGOs, national, regional or local authorities and companies. The programme has an overall budget of 5.4 billion € for the period 2021-2027. Calls for Proposals are usually published annually.

Projects funded through LIFE are implementing technological solutions to environmental and climate challenges. Research activities are not funded through LIFE. For research in the field of environment and climate, Horizon Europe would be the adequate programme.

LIFE is composed of 4 sub-programmes:

Within the Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme, nature protection projects are being funded which pursue the aim of halting and reversing biodiversity loss, e.g. through conservation projects addressing habitats and species. For example, in the area of nature and biodiversity, projects could restore bird habitats in areas for certain bird species which are in decline in the project’s geographical area.

The Circular Economy and Quality of Life funding strand targets projects for the transition toward a sustainable, circular, toxic-free, energy-efficient and climate-resilient economy. Projects to protect, restore and improve the environment are supported as well, i.e. through the projects themselves or through an integration of these principles into policy measures. Fundable projects can for example cover the recovery of resources from waste, or an improved durability or reparability of products.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: In the area of mitigation, supported projects can address e.g. farming practices, land use, peatland management, renewable energies and energy efficiency. Related to climate change adaptation, sought actions can target e.g. urban areas, land-use planning, the resilience of infrastructure, sustainable management within water-scarce areas, flood and coastal management, adaptation measures within agriculture, forestry and tourism, etc.

The Clean Energy Transition sub-programme covers five areas of intervention:

  • Building national, regional and local policy frameworks to support clean energy transition
  • Technology roll-outs, digitalisation, new services and business models, skills development related to the clean energy transition
  • Attracting private finance for sustainable energy (e.g. by innovative financing schemes for investments in sustainable energy)
  • Development of local and regional investment projects
  • Citizens involvement in clean energy transition

 

LIFE is in principle open to all public or private entities including public authorities (national, regional, local authorities), NGOs or companies. However, it will depend on the specific Call for Proposals which kind of beneficiaries are eligible for the intended type of projects.

Funding modalities within LIFE

The LIFE programme funds projects which are close to the market and address a technology which could solve an existing environmental or climate related problem. The proposed solutions should already be technically and economically viable so that it could be more widely deployed after the end of the project.

It will depend on the specific Call if projects may be carried out by a single entity or if several partners from different countries (EU Member States and countries associated to the LIFE programme) are required.

LIFE offers grants for Standard Action Project, Strategic Integrated Projects, Operating Grants for non-profit making entities as well as Coordination and Support Actions and Technical Assistance which are supporting capacity development for participation in subsequent LIFE actions.

LIFE finances Standard Action Projects which should contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental and climate policy and legislation. Standard Action Projects often implement technological solutions, but they can as well be governance projects or projects aiming to change consumer behaviour.

Another type of action are LIFE Strategic Nature Projects and Strategic Integrated Projects. These are larger (and therefore also fewer) than the Standard Action Projects. They aim to implement environmental and climate legislation, programmes and strategies in EU Member States at national, regional or multi-regional level, and usually actively involve multiple stakeholders in the design and implementation of the project.

LIFE projects usually need to refer to and implement corresponding EU priorities, policies and legislations. Measures in a bird habitat project would for example relate to the EU Birds and Habitats Directives. The link between the envisaged project and the corresponding EU strategies and/or laws need to be demonstrated in the project proposal, in particular how the project would contribute to the objectives of the EU strategies or legislation.

Last but not least, you will need to provide some own resources when implementing a LIFE project. The EU co-financing rate is around 60-70% for most projects, for clean energy transition project this rate can go up to 95%.

Evaluation criteria for LIFE projects

For the selection of the best projects which will eventually receive funding through the LIFE programme, a panel of independent experts will be contracted to evaluate the submitted project proposals. They will give scores, mainly for the following four criteria:

  • Relevance of the proposal: Alignment with the objectives of the LIFE programme, related policies and EU strategies as well as the specific Call priorities, concept and methodology, intervention logic, …
  • Impact (especially important as it has a higher weighting than the other criteria: 1,5 instead of 1): Ambition and credibility of the expected impacts that are described in the proposal, the potential for the project results to be replicated or to be up-scaled by other public or private actors, …
  • Implementation: Quality of the work plan, appropriateness of the geographic focus of the activities, stakeholder mobilisation and engagement, impact monitoring, expected effectiveness of communication and dissemination activities, …
  • Resources: Composition of the project team in terms of expertise, skills, project management, appropriateness of the budget and resource distribution, management of the environmental impact of the project, …

 

In some LIFE Calls, such as for Standard Action Projects, proposals can receive up to 10 bonus points for addressing specific strategic priorities, for example: demonstrating strong synergies between LIFE sub-programmes, focusing on Outermost Regions or vulnerable geographic areas, building on previous EU-funded projects, showing exceptional catalytic potential (i.e. the ability to trigger wider systemic change or replication), or involving essential transnational cooperation among eligible countries. These bonus points are then awarded as part of the standard scoring criteria and can make up 10 out of the max. 100 achievable points.

How can you apply for funding?

Open Calls for Proposals in the framework of the EU LIFE programme are published (in general annually) on the European Commission’s Funding and Tenders Portal. Applications for funding have to be submitted via the Portal as well.

The next submission deadlines for open Calls for Proposals including all thematic areas are in September 2025.

What to watch out for when applying

A couple of first tips to get you started with preparing your proposal:

  • The evaluation process is competitive and only the best projects will be funded. Therefore, read all published Call documents very carefully to make sure your proposed project is really matching the thematic expectations as well as admissibility and eligibility criteria. Also, check the standard application form to see which kind of information and at what level of detail you have to provide.

  • Your project should be innovative. Check previous LIFE projects to ensure that your idea wasn’t funded before. You can find them on the Funding and Tenders Portal. In case a similar project has already been funded before, clearly point out what the differences, novelties and additional benefits of your new project are.

  • Your project should deploy a mature solution to an environmental or climate change problem and be economically viable. Possibilities for a potential uptake and replication should be explained.

  • Provide a clear description of the baseline, i.e. what the current situation is from where your project starts. Explain what the potential of your proposed solution is, i.e. what is expected to be achieved at the end of the project and beyond. Use appropriate indicators to measure your project’s achievements. Check if there are any mandatory Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and selectable KPIs which may be applicable for the specific Call you are applying for.

  • Explain how your project is aligned with the LIFE programme’s priorities and other relevant EU policies and regulations in the field of environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development.

  • Start early enough to prepare your proposal (a rough advice is at least around 4-6 months prior to the submission deadline). It can take time to get all the required information, especially if you need to receive certain baseline data which are not publicly available, or if are planning to implement the project with several other partners so that a certain degree of coordination and agreements about the work packages, tasks and budgetary distributions etc. will be needed.

This was a first overview for preparing a successful project within the EU’s LIFE Programme which I hope you found useful. In case you have any questions or need support when drafting your proposal, don’t hesitate to reach out for more information.

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Astrid Mechel - EU Funding Consulting

Author: Astrid Mechel

https://eufundingconsulting.eu

Hello, I am Astrid Mechel and I work (for the most part) with small and medium sized organisations who aim to access EU funding. It is my goal to help discovering suitable EU project funding possibilities and to provide support to submit a high-quality grant application. My main thematic focus is on grants for research and innovation, environmental sustainability as well as on social inclusion and participation.

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