LIFE: about LIFE
The general objective of LIFE is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of Community environmental policy and legislation, in particular regarding the integration of the environment into other policies and to sustainable development in the European Community. While many other EU funding programmes have environmental strands, LIFE is the only one devoted entirely to supporting and developing EU environmental policy throughout the Community.
The adoption of the Single European Act in 1986, for the first time gave EU environmental policy a firm treaty basis. This, alongside the adoption of the Fifth Environment Action Programme in 1993, set the pace of environmental reform for the next decade. The LIFE Programme emerged in 1992 as one of the Community’s essential environmental tools.
LIFE has co-financed some 2,750 projects, contributing approximately €1.35 billion to the protection of the environment in three phases:
- LIFE I (1992 to 1995)
- LIFE II (1996 to 1999)
- LIFE III (2000 to 2006)
- LIFE + (2007 to 2013)
Page last modified: 27 November 2007