LIFE Programme

Many EU projects will play a role in the 24th edition of the annual international climate change conference. One of them is LIFE WZROST, which will explain its awareness-raising campaign on how to reach the Paris Agreement goals on 6 December.

EU law require countries to prosecute certain breaches of environmental law as crimes. But there are barriers: it can be difficult for people to report crimes, and national authorities, regulatory bodies and enforcement agencies can lack ways to track illegal activities across borders. Several LIFE projects are developing tools to help.

Farmers work at the forefront of climate change, dealing with seasonal variations, water stresses and changing soil conditions. Today, both traditional and industrial farming methods are starting to show their limitations. The ClimAgri project shows how alternative farming practices can mitigate climate change as well as make sound financial sense.

The 2019 edition of the biggest event dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe is here. The call for sessions is now open; you can submit your proposal until 28 January. For more calls and updates, check the EUSEW website regularly.

The EU’s emissions trading scheme is a cornerstone of climate change policy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The final conference of this project will assess how the scheme is performing and look at prospects for improvements post-2020.

Urban forests and green infrastructure can bring life-changing benefits to cities – strengthening economic development and environmental conservation and building closer, more engaged communities. The S.O.S. 4 LIFE project is one of the exhibitors at this first international forum in Mantova, Italy.

Engineered nanomaterials are an increasing presence in our lives, but how much do we know about their impacts on human health and the environment? This project has been prototyping real-time monitoring stations to measure exposure. Data gathered will enable risk assessments to determine how nanomaterials should be regulated.

Organised within the 11th International Forum on Urbanism, this conference will gather input on more integrated and inclusive ways to design and manage resilient cities. Resilient cities are more future-proof and can anticipate, recover from and adapt to shocks and stresses.

In Slovakia, protected swifts and bats are turning to urban nesting sites as their natural habits diminish. The LIFE project APUS & NYCTALUS has worked with building owners in the country to reverse population decline and bolster law to safeguard nests.

Plastic and fishing waste is a hot topic in the EU and beyond. The European Parliament has just approved a sweeping ban on single-use plastics, with many items to be banned by 2021. Clean Sea LIFE shows how ‘fishing for litter’ can make a big dent in plastic waste in our oceans.

LIFE ECONOMICK has tested a prototype kiln that can improve energy performance by over 45%. The ceramics industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, producing an estimated 1.84 million tonnes per year of carbon dioxide globally.