Brussels, 08/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - Making resources available for the environment in these difficult days of crisis is almost an impossible task, so the proposal on the budget for Life+ which the Commission will bring forward on Monday 12 December should be seen as a complement to the financial resources already allocated (regional funds, CAP, fisheries, research, etc.) to make the environment part of all thematic policies and so serve the objectives of the EUROPE 2020 strategy. That is the substance of what European Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said on 8 December as he outlined for the press the broad thrust of the budget proposal awaited for the only EU financial instrument specifically devoted to the environment and climate. His colleague, Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, was, that same day, in Durban, South Africa where the UN climate conference (COP 17) was becoming bogged down and looking as if it was heading towards failure.
Life+ is the key instrument for implementing the EU's environmental and climate policy, improving synergies with other programmes, Potocnik said. The current Life+ programme has a budget of €2.1 billion but the new programme will have an allocation of €3.2 billion over seven years - €800 million for climate and €2.4 billion for environmental initiatives. A substantial increase, he stated. Building on the success of Life+, it will be better structured, more strategic and more flexible thanks to simplification of procedures on eligibility to joint funding for projects and - a major innovation - it will, for the first time, fund “integrated projects” to improve implementation on a wider scale, including regional. Technical assistance will be offered in preparing projects. In short, Life+ 2014-2020 will combine small traditional projects, including air, water and waste pilot projects with maximum effect, and larger-scale integrated projects, the commissioner indicated.
For Life environment, the priority areas will be the environment and resource efficiency; biodiversity; environmental governance; and information. Projects directed at the market will not be eligible for funding. The priority areas for Life climate action will be mitigation of climate change (that is, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions); adaptation to climate change (for example, increasing resistance to the phenomenon); climate governance; and information. (AN/transl.rt)