The 2024 LIFE award winners were selected from very many LIFE projects from across the EU that support the European Green Deal and have been completed within the last year. They mark outstanding achievements in three categories: nature, circular economy and quality of life and climate action.
The LIFE Award for Nature went to LIFE Flusserlebnis Isar, which aims to restore the river Isar and its floodplains through a unique collaboration between Bavarian water and nature authorities.
Winning the LIFE Award for Circular Economy and Quality of Life, LIFE Waste2Protein pilots innovative insect protein-based animal feed produced from biowaste as a sustainable alternative to fish and soy meal.
The Climate Action category winner was LIFE TreeCheck, for helping Central European cities tackle climate change using green infrastructure to minimise the urban heat island effect.
Life+ Nature Guardians, a project fighting environmental crime such as dumping waste and killing wildlife across Spain and Portugal, won the LIFE Citizens’ Prize, which was awarded by public vote.
A special category introduced at this year’s Award to recognise the vital and indispensable role of clean water in the life of every European was awarded to Freshabitat LIFE IP from Finland. At EU Green Week, the European Commission launched an awareness-raising campaign on the need to transform the way water is managed, used and valued. This #WaterWiseEU campaign will encourage people to “See Water Differently” and explore solutions to the various water challenges we are facing today.
The LIFE Awards mark the annual celebration of the most successful projects implemented under the LIFE Programme. Since 1992, LIFE has financed thousands of projects in the field of environmental protection.
Speaking at the live-streamed ceremony in Brussels, attended by over 200 guests during the finale of European Green Week, DG Environment Director-General Florika Fink-Hooijer congratulated the winners:
“I am hugely proud that the LIFE Programme continues to prove to be able to protect nature, promote circular economy and address climate change in its key role of “green accelerator”, testing new solutions on the ground to the tangible positive benefit for millions of citizens across the EU,” she said. “These finalists, and all the others competing for this year’s awards, show what can be achieved when communities, businesses, scientists, experts and local authorities work together towards a common goal.”
“It’s exciting to see the extraordinary depth of innovation, enthusiasm and commitment which make the LIFE Programme such a success,” added Kurt Vandenberghe, Director-General of DG CLIMA. “Every year we see new approaches to tackling climate change, protecting biodiversity, ensuring food security, and improving the quality of life in all Member States. When you see the range of talent and innovation, you can’t help but be optimistic for the future.”
Presenting the LIFE Citizens’ Award, Anne Burrill, Head of the LIFE Environment (Nature & Circular Economy) Unit at CINEA, said “The fact that thousands of EU citizens have taken the time to vote for their favourite LIFE project demonstrates their value and impact. LIFE+ Nature Guardians is the clear winner, but I want to congratulate all the finalists- for the brilliant work they are doing across Europe.”
The 2024 LIFE Awards were judged by a jury of three experts: Martin Adams, Head of Biodiversity, Health and Resources Programme at the European Environment Agency (EEA); Benjamin Van Bunderen Robberechts, Belgian climate and children’s rights activist and Climate Pact ambassador; and Piotr Całbecki, Alternate member of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Assembly at the European Committee of the Regions. The jury commended winners for their projects’ contribution to immediate and long-term environmental, economic and social improvements, their degree of innovation and transferability, their relevance to policy, and cost-effectiveness.
LIFE Award 2024 finalists
Additionally recognised at the Awards ceremony were the remaining finalists:
Nature Protection
LIFE AQPOM - restoring habitats for the endangered lesser spotted eagle in Latvia, including 500 new nests and 400 micro reserves.
Circular economy and Quality of Life
LIFE GreenShoes4All - designing innovative environmentally friendly shoes to address the footwear industry’s excessive waste and CO2 emissions.
LIFE Planet Farms - introducing ground-breaking air treatment, hydroponic irrigation, and automated systems for the EU’s first industrial vertical farm.
Climate Action
LIFE Ad’Apto - testing and evaluating ten different solutions to coastal climate impacts such as sea level rise and extreme weather events, at ten pilot sites around the French coast.
LIFE UrbanStorm - developing sustainable and climate resilient urban storm water collection systems and wastewater treatment in the Estonian cities of Tallinn and Viimsi.
About the LIFE Programme
The LIFE Programme is the EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. It has been running since 1992 and has co-financed more than 6,000 projects across the EU and other countries. The European Commission has increased LIFE Programme funding by almost 60 percent for the 2021 - 2027 period, now standing at €5.4 billion. LIFE has four sub-programmes: nature and biodiversity, circular economy and quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and clean energy transition. Applications are now open for €571 million worth of funding for LIFE projects in 2024. The LIFE Programme has been managed by CINEA, the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, since 1 April 2021.
For more information about the LIFE Awards 2024, please refer to the following link.
Details
- Publication date
- 31 May 2024
- Author
- European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency
