Environment grants in European Union

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Chemical Industry Action Plan, the Clean Industrial Deal as well as the Horizon Europe Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030" in particular to Objective 2: "Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, Seas and waters". Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Full industrial scale biorefinery and related value chain(s) to produce SSbD bio-based solutions for home and/or personal care sector with significantly improved sustainability. Wider availability of bio-based products in home and/or personal care sector meeting both regulatory standards and technical performance requirements. Increased consumer/end user acceptance of bio-based solutions, facilitating market uptake. Contribution to the EU strategic autonomy, resilience and competitiveness, reducing the fossil feedstock dependence for chemicals production and minimising biomass imports dependencies. Scope: The home and personal care sector, including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and cosmetics, is a key industry where…

Expected Outcome: This topic aims at directly engaging and supporting relevant public authorities with mapping at large scale the conditions of marine habitats needed for implementing the Nature Restoration Regulation and for achieving one or several objectives of the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters [1] . The direct involvement of relevant authorities and stakeholders in the consortium is strongly encouraged. Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: Member States have the capacity and access to tried and tested solutions to complete the mapping of the distribution and condition of coastal and marine habitats listed in Annex II of the Nature Restoration Regulation [2] (NRR) in the waters under their jurisdiction, which is needed to fulfil the obligations under Article 5 of the NRR within the deadlines, and obligations under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Birds and Habitats Directive (BHD); Substantial areas of habitats have been mapped and their condition assessed. Priority should be given to Groups 1-6 of Annex II, followed by Group 7 of Annex II [3] , in line with applicable deadlines; Member States have the…

Expected Outcome: In support to the implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy, the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate change, and in particular having regard to the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan, project results should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Local climate adaptation actors, the financing sector, the public grant sector, and climate adaptation financing experience are brought to work together on making local adaptation actions financeable by combining public grant funding and private financing via bank loans and on overcoming the practical barriers on combining these and finding solutions, and specifically through demonstrating this with intermediated EIB adaptation lending. Local innovative adaptation actions (including nature-based solutions) have been implemented thanks to their financing by the combination of private financing via bank loans and public grant funding. National Promotional Banks (NPBs)/other banks are mobilised to actively finance local adaptation actions. Scope: Rationale Financing of local adaptation actions, especially with other means than public grant funding, is currently still not taking place sufficiently.…

Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will support the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan. Projects are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: The methodology for identifying, selecting and consolidating global and regional reference climate data sets and scenarios is advanced and their consistent use across the EU in relation to climate adaptation is supported. Standardisation and quality of climate services across the EU are improved, and their uptake is enhanced. Climate services and best practices are used effectively to inform climate adaptation policies and decisions Scope: Rationale As climate risks intensify, the demand for tailored and effective climate services is growing. However, despite their increasing adoption, the lack of sufficient regulation can compromise quality assurance and consistency of climate services, leading to poor decision-making, limited use in policy, and underdeveloped markets, ultimately resulting in maladaptation. In its Communication on Managing climate risk , the European Commission announced its intention to ask European Standardisation…

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will support the implementation of the EU Adaptation Strategy, the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, the European Water Resilience Strategy, the EU Preparedness Strategy and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan. Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: Navigable inland waterways, their surroundings and related infrastructure are managed in a more integrated and sustainable manner across Europe and become more climate-resilient Climate and environmental risks to water infrastructure (e.g. droughts, flooding, slow onset events, ecological degradation and cascading and compound events) are more effectively addressed in a systemic way. Safe, efficient and reliable navigability conditions are improved. Cost-efficient and environmentally friendly measures -- especially nature-based solutions -- are identified with the involvement of stakeholders. They improve climate resilience of inland waterways while supporting integrated co-benefit and avoiding competing water uses, including between countries and regions. Scope: Rationale There are about 42,000 kilometres of navigable inland waterways in the EU,…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: the effectiveness of the protection of habitats and species in protected areas is maintained even under intensifying impacts of the drivers of biodiversity loss, including climate change, thanks to an improved understanding of how they affect the conservation status of the protected habitats and species, for the benefit of society; managers of protected areas are able to anticipate the future impacts of drivers of biodiversity loss and can take better informed decisions for the protection of terrestrial, freshwater and/or marine habitats and species. Scope: Protected areas are key to ensure the conservation of species and habitats. However, the intensification of the main drivers of biodiversity loss is raising questions on how their effectiveness will be maintained in the future. This topic is expected to support the EU commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30% of the EU’s land area and a minimum of 30% of the EU’s sea area of the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (target 1) and the related legislation, and the corresponding target of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity…

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the implementation of the Zero Pollution Action Plan, the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Chemical Industry Action Plan. They will provide solutions in line with the objectives of the EU legislation on waste but also the Horizon Europe Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030" in particular to Objective 2: "Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, Seas and waters” as well as the Horizon Europe Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, in particular objectives “Reduce soil pollution and enhance restoration”. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Wider availability of bio-based additives targeting high functional properties, stability and compatibility with polymers/matrices. Contribution to improved circularity of end products in relevant market sectors. Potential replicability into other industrial sectors to widen market opportunity. Reduction or avoidance of environmental impacts related to life cycle of additives and additive-containing materials and/or products. Scope: While…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes: Advanced tools and solutions are developed and demonstrated to enhance the competitiveness of European multimodal freight transport networks, ensuring sustainability, resilience, security and increased freight transport capacity; Solutions provide real-time visibility, tracking and predictive analytics for multimodal services, performance, and network status (e.g., disruptions, maintenance) to support better planning and increase shippers' adoption of multimodal transport; Strengthened integration of multimodal (e.g. rail, inland waterway transport and short sea shipping) data, along with improved synchromodal solutions, enabling more agile, flexible, responsive and resilient multimodal transport logistic systems. Scope: Freight transport demand in Europe is expected to double in the coming decades, making it essential to enhance the capacity, efficiency, and resilience of freight transport to maintain the European competitiveness. Despite policy goals to strengthen multimodal transport, double rail freight’s share by 2050, and increase transport by inland waterways and short sea…

Expected Outcome: The successful proposal will contribute to the implementation of the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, the Preparedness Union Strategy and the upcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan, by facilitating the interaction between the actors of the Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management at European, national and regional scales. Proposals are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: The Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management communities at European level are brought together to develop inter- and transdisciplinary methodological approaches, constructing and disseminating joint knowledge. The knowledge and understanding of the common aspects for Disaster Risk Management preparedness and climate change adaptation are enhanced, including the question of responsibility and accountability. The terminology and understanding of the risks and the possible solutions are aligned for Disaster Risk Management and Adaptation and hence local resilience to climate change is improved. Scope: Rationale The goal of this action is to strengthen collaboration between the Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management communities. This will…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: increased support on green bioprocessing, safe and sustainable blue bio-based products; increased understanding of safety, effectiveness and regulatory bottlenecks of blue bio-based products; increased commitment to biodiversity preservation and conservation ensuring that the biodiscovery of new compounds does not lead to unsustainable harvesting from the wild and promoting sustainable use of genetic diversity. Scope: The European industry must transition to a greener, more sustainable model to enhance its competitiveness against other business models and foster the production of novel high-value sustainable products. Achieving this requires a shift towards a bio-based system, which leverages biological processes to deliver products that contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing environmental impact and can compete with and eventually replace traditional models. For instance, the current use of hazardous chemicals in various industries, such as the textile and polymer industries, requires the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. In…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes: Valorisation, cross-fertilisation and dissemination of innovative solutions for sustainable urban mobility, from EU and national projects through the CIVITAS initiative; Contribution to the accelerated deployment of innovative urban mobility solutions, increasing competitiveness of European urban mobility actors while achieving European mobility policy objectives. Cities are equipped with a relevant knowledge, necessary soft and technical skills to successfully deploy smart and sustainable mobility solutions, for passenger and freight. A vibrant community of urban innovative mobility stakeholders is maintained and strengthened. Scope: Effective and efficient urban mobility systems are the backbone of competitive cities, without them the economy comes to a standstill. While cities are going through a rapid digital, green and social transformation, local and regional authorities play bigger roles and take on greater responsibilities in contributing to the prosperity, climate-neutrality and competitiveness of the European Union. However, the deployment of innovative sustainable mobility…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: Additional regional and local assets (data, models, digital twins) are made available on the DTO core infrastructure, EDITO; New digital twin applications, emphasising on regional and local conditions and addressing regional considerations, including stakeholders needs, availability of data, etc.; Enhanced digital twin regional capabilities, creating in the EU DTO core infrastructure, EDITO, the conditions to directly support policy implementation, including marine environmental policy, and Blue Economy applications which build on the regional characteristics of the sea-basin; Development of regional what-if-scenarios libraries, including confidence thresholds and related analysis, quantifying the necessary conditions to increase confidence levels, etc.; Support to monitoring and sustainable management of regional seas with new tailor-made services for regional seas. Scope: Proposals should establish regional components within the EDITO core infrastructure of the EU Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO). These regional components should foster the development of local digital…

Expected Outcome: Projects should contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: EU and national policymakers and relevant stakeholders get an enhanced understanding of the drivers of violence against women and LGBTIQ people who are politically active or political aspirants. Enhanced prevention and early intervention through better understanding of the drivers and impacts of violence (short- and long-term) on women and LGBTIQ people engaged, or aspiring to engage, in online and offline political activities and how their participation evolves after experiencing violence and harassment. Uptake of evidence-based policy recommendations by policymakers and relevant stakeholders on tackling gender-based violence alongside violence against politically active women and LGBTIQ people, promoting equal political participation and addressing harmful narratives. Broader adherence to media guidelines on responsible, ethical, and safe portrayals of and reporting on gender-based violence in a political context, embedding gender-sensitive and intersectional reporting and incorporating successful practices with demonstrable, positive outcomes. Promotion of an inclusive environment that…

Expected Outcome: Successful proposals will contribute to the updated EU Bioeconomy Strategy, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, the Clean Industrial Deal, and the Ecodesign Sustainable Products Regulation. Indirect contribution is expected towards the objectives of the Horizon Europe Mission "Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030" in particular to Obj 2: "Prevent and eliminate pollution of our oceans, seas and waters”. Projects results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes: Wider availability of natural and/or man-made bio-based fibres meeting market requirements. Scalable production processes for novel man-made and/or modified natural fibres. Enhanced circularity and prevent microplastics release compared to benchmarks. Scope: Fossil-based synthetic textile fibre production has grown significantly, reaching 67% of the global market in 2023. [1] Among bio-based fibres, cotton plays a prominent role as it is the second most produced fibre at global level; however, it bears serious environmental concerns due to its massive land use and water consumption; moreover, the EU holds a minor share of the…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Improved detection, localization, characterization and, when applicable, neutralisation, of unmanned vehicles alone or in swarms, involved in trafficking or smuggling activities across external borders, while complying with legal and ethical guidelines; Improved border situational awareness, especially in the context of large-scale movements of people across borders, including from potential instrumentalisation of irregular migration, conflicts, social, economic, environmental and climate stress; Better safeguard and promotion of fundamental rights thanks to enhanced situational awareness; Reliable, redundant detection and reaction capacities without putting staff and society at risk. Scope: Capabilities for situational awareness and surveillance of land and sea borders need improvement, in consideration of potential future challenges that may require updated capabilities. These challenges may include potential future large-scale movements of people across external borders, resulting from future attempts to instrumentalisation of irregular migration, but also from…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes: An increased number of local authorities systematically identify and quantify vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces for reuse in neighbourhoods [1] in a context-sensitive way to address local community [1] challenges and needs. Increase in renovated, renatured, or converted spaces that address local community challenges and needs. Scope: Europe’s housing needs, inefficient use of the existing building stock, environmental commitments, and the EU’s goal of “no net land take” by 2050 make a compelling case for reusing the significant number of existing spaces, including buildings and infrastructure, that are vacant, obsolete or underutilised. In Europe, there are, for instance, an estimated 19,000 km² of underutilised brownfield land and 300 km² of vacant or underutilised office space [3] . The reuse of vacant, obsolete or underutilised spaces, following circularity [1] and sufficiency principles, can help address community challenges and needs thanks to their typical proximity and connection to essential infrastructure and services. While vacant, obsolete or underutilised…

Expected Outcome: Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes: Creation of an integrated ecosystem for secure and resilient communication systems to support civil security operations across Europe; Advancement of next-generation capabilities, ensuring robust, scalable, and interoperable communication systems for critical civil security functions relevant for the future EU Critical Communication System (EUCCS). Scope: The European Union Critical Communication System (EUCCS) is a flagship initiative aiming at gradual development of a unified, secure, and interoperable communication infrastructure to support critical public safety and civil security operations across Europe. Aims to provide law enforcement, first responders, emergency services, and other critical sectors with reliable, real-time communication capabilities, even in challenging or high-risk environments. This topic aims to streamline the creation of an integrated ecosystem for secure and resilient communication systems that support civil security operations across Europe. It aims to advance next-generation capabilities, ensuring robust, scalable, and interoperable…

Expected Outcome: The Regional cable hubs will contribute to enhancing and consolidating collective situational awareness and capabilities in detection, supporting the development of an operational capacities to ensure the security and resilience of undersea cables. The hubs should act as a central point allowing for broader pooling of data and information relevant for the security environment of the cables, enabling the dissemination of threat information and incident detection on a regional scale and among a diverse set of national actors as designated by each Member States (e.g. National Hubs, CSIRTs.) The Hubs should allow a rapid exchange of information, even if classified among participating authorities in a given hub. To that end, the participating authorities shall set procedural arrangements on cooperation and information sharing. Furthermore, regional cable hubs could also benefit from additional solutions for the surveillance and protection of submarine cables, and the detection of malicious activities. For instance, situational awareness performed through the collection and analysis of in-situ, sea-based sensor data as well as relevant satellite imagery or undersea…

Expected Outcome: A consolidated reference on private situational data relevant for submarine-cable security A structured description of the main categories of private situational data and actors relevant for submarine-cable security, including their sensitivity profile, typical usage, and the key legal, regulatory and commercial constraints affecting possible access by Regional Cable Hubs. Interoperability and data fusion pathways for multi-source, multi-basin use Clear conclusions on the main interoperability and data fusion challenges and feasible solutions (e.g. common data models or ontologies, interoperability layers, translation and fusion layers), including indications on which approaches are realistically applicable across multiple providers and sea basins, and how they can remain extensible to accommodate new data sources and actors over time. A proof-of-concept demonstration showing how selected private situational data can be accessed, integrated and processed within a Regional Cable Hub–type environment, together with a practical demonstration of the situational-awareness outcomes that such integration can produce. This includes evidence on the achievable levels of…

Scope: Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) under the sub-programme Circular Economy and Quality of Life in the areas of Circular Economy, Waste, Water and Air, in order to implement - National or regional Circular Economy Action Plans, National and regional Waste Management Plans, River Basin Management Plans, Air Quality Plans or Noise Action Plans - at large territorial scale - with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders and - including a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted plan or strategy.

Expected Impact: Applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve ambitious and credible impacts in terms of conservation benefit, ensuring at the same time long term sustainability and replication (see sections 2 and 9 of the Call document). Objective: To contribute to the protection of nature and biodiversity by: raising awareness of the benefits of nature conservation, supporting compliance assurance, as well as public participation and access to justice (Aarhus Convention) enabling actions for the replication and upscaling of proven solutions Scope: The present Call topic targets Standard Action Projects (SAP) aimed at achieving the objectives of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme by improving governance and information at all levels, as defined in sections 1 and 2 of the Call document. This call topic focuses exclusively on governance and information projects; other projects in line with the objectives of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme but defined in the Call topic LIFE-2026-SAP-NAT-NATURE are excluded.

Scope: Provides financial support for the preparation of a proposal for a Strategic Nature Project (SNaP) to implement - a Priority Action Framework (PAF), National Restoration Plans, or other plans or strategies on international, national, regional or multiregional level that implement EU nature and/or biodiversity policy or legislation - at large territorial scale - with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders and - including a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted PAF (or other eligible strategy).

Expected Impact: Applicants are expected to define, qualify and quantify the expected impacts of their proposal in light of what is described in the call document (see Call document section 2). This will be assessed as described in the Award criterion ‘Impact’ (see Call document section 9 ). Objective: Based on article 11 of the LIFE Regulation 2021/783, the LIFE Multi Annual Work Programme 2025-2027, includes the possibility to finance each year a limited number of projects designed to support specific needs for the development and implementation of Union environment policy and legislation. Once a year, in consultation with Member States, the Commission makes an inventory of the specific needs regarding the development and implementation of Union environmental or climate policy and legislation that require to be addressed during the following years and identifies among them the ones that could be addressed by specific projects. Scope: Point 4.1.4 of the LIFE 2025-2027 Multi Annual Work Programme indicates that under “Other Actions”, additional projects responding to the Union legislative and policy priorities could be determined on annual basis, following a consultation with…

Objective: The objective of this call is to develop inland waterway transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T core network. Scope: Works on inland waterways related to: Upgrade of waterways and related infrastructure such as locks and , weirs/dams , in order to achieve stable or improved navigation conditions, performance and/or more capacity for the passage of vessels or to ensure good navigation status; Creation of new waterways and related infrastructure (locks, weirs/dams, bridges).

Objective: The objective of this call is to develop rail transport infrastructure projects on the TEN-T core [1] network Scope: Works and / or studies related to: Construction/upgrading of cross-border and missing links Interconnections between rail and other modes of transport, namely inland waterway and maritime transport (including port hinterland connections) and projects aimed at the integration of the high-speed rail and air networks to make the feeder network for long-haul flights more sustainable. Priority will be given to projects fostering the development of high-speed rail in line with the Commission communication on high-speed rail [2] Support will not be given to railway stations, except for railway infrastructure components. If the project includes such components, they shall be presented as a separate work package. Support will not be given to track side ERTMS deployment, electronic interlockings and/or Class A radio communication (5G/FRMCS/GSM-R) components. Support will not be given to activities related to the Class B systems nor to rolling stock. Projects shall comply with the provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/797 [3] and with the related Technical…

Expected Impact: Applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve ambitious and credible impacts in terms of conservation benefit, ensuring at the same time long term sustainability and replication (see sections 2 and 9 of the Call document). Objective: To contribute to European Union objectives for the protection, maintenance and restoration of the Union’s natural capital in its marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems Scope: The present Call topic targets Standard Action Projects (SAP) aimed at achieving the objectives of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity sub-programme by supporting the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of EU legislation and policy on nature and biodiversity, as defined in sections 1 and 2 of the Call document. Projects focussing exclusively on governance and information are excluded from this Call topic and covered by the related Call topic LIFE-2026-SAP-NAT-GOV.

Scope: Topic scope: Promoting an enabling civic space (CERV-2026-CHAR-LITI-CIVIC) A thriving civic space requires an enabling legal, administrative and regulatory environment in which civil society organisations (CSOs) are supported and empowered, protected from threats, and able to operate freely. This call therefore aims to reinforce the conditions for such an environment by supporting actions that strengthen both the monitoring of civic space and the protection and resilience of CSOs and human rights defenders working to uphold EU values. Monitoring of civic space Projects should establish or enhance systematic and comprehensive monitoring systems to regularly assess the environment in which CSOs operate at national level. These should build on and align as closely as possible with existing frameworks—such as the indicators developed by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights and data from international organisations—as well as national monitoring systems, to ensure comparability and consistency. Such proposals can cover in particular the following: focus on breaches of fundamental rights affecting CSOs and human rights defenders, including the right to freedom of…

Expected Impact: Expected Impact : By the end of the project: at least substantial contribution to the implementation of the targeted plan/strategy, and mechanisms established to ensure full implementation of the plan/strategy. After the project: Full implementation of the plan/strategy. In relation to those expected impacts, applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve the expected impacts as described in Award criterion ‘Impact’ of the full proposal evaluation ( see Call document ). Objective: Support the full implementation of the following plans and strategies: - Circular Economy: National or Regional Circular Economy Action Plans, Strategies, Roadmaps or similar, which are officially approved, and which include specific and measurable actions, or targets, with a clear timeline and are in line with or complement the objectives of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan and, when relevant of the Bioeconomy Strategy. - Waste: National and regional Waste Management Plans pursuant to Article 28 of the EU Waste Framework Directive and/or Waste Prevention Programmes as requested by article 29 of the EU Waste Framework Directive. - Water: River basin management plans…

Expected Impact: By the end of the project: at least substantial contribution to the implementation of the targeted plan/strategy, and mechanisms established to ensure full implementation of the plan/strategy. After the project: Full implementation of the plan/strategy. In relation to those expected impacts, applicants are expected to define, calculate, explain and achieve the expected impacts as described in Award criterion ‘Impact’ of the full proposal evaluation ( see Call document ). Objective: Support the full implementation of the following plans and strategies: The Prioritised Action Frameworks (PAFs) pursuant to Article 8 of Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive) and; National restoration plans pursuant to Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and the Council on nature restoration and; Other plans or strategies adopted at international, national, regional or multiregional level by nature and biodiversity authorities and intrinsically linked to the implementation of EU nature and/or biodiversity policy or legislation (biodiversity strategy, pollinators initiative,…