LIFE is the EU’s financial instrument supporting environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects throughout the EU.

LIFE began in 1992 and to date there have been four complete phases of the programme (LIFE I: 1992-1995, LIFE II: 1996-1999, LIFE III: 2000-2006 and LIFE+: 2007-2013). Since 1992, LIFE has co-financed more than 4500 projects.

For the 2014-2020 funding period, LIFE will contribute approximately €3.4 billion to the protection of the environment and climate.

The European Commission (DG Environment and DG Climate Action) manages the LIFE programme. The Commission has delegated the implementation of many components of the LIFE programme to the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). External selection, monitoring and communication teams provide assistance to the Commission and EASME.

The general objectives of LIFE are:

  • To contribute to the shift towards a resource-efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, to the protection and improvement of the quality of the environment and to halting and reversing biodiversity loss, including the support of the Natura 2000 network and tackling the degradation of ecosystems;
  • To improve the development, implementation and enforcement of Union environmental and climate policy and legislation, and to act as a catalyst for, and promote, the integration and mainstreaming of environmental and climate objectives into other Union policies and public and private sector practice, including by increasing the public and private sector’s capacity;
  • To support better environmental and climate governance at all levels, including better involvement of civil society, NGOs and local actors;
  • To support the implementation of the 7th Environment Action Programme.

The general objective shall be pursued through the following sub-programmes:

  1. the sub-programme for Environment divided in the following three priority areas:
  • Environment and Resource Efficiency;
  • Nature and Biodiversity;
  • Environmental Governance and Information.

(b) the sub-programme for Climate Action, divided in the following three priority areas:

  • (Climate Change Mitigation;
  • Climate Change Adaptation;
  • Climate Governance and Information.

LIFE ASPIRE project belongs to the LIFE+ Environment and Resource Efficiency category.

Further information are available at the following pages: