LIFE: finding new ways to fund the clean energy transition

Europe is at a critical moment in its transition to clean energy — but progress could stall without adequate investment. 13 LIFE projects from all over Europe were among those attending the recent Clean Energy Transition Investment Forum (CETIF) in Brussels, Belgium, to share ‘successful and pioneering’ ways of accelerating investments in the Clean Energy Transition. The event was co-organised by the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme. 

The conference brought together around 450 people from businesses, public authorities and other organisations, and the discussions of the day were structured under 4 themes: unlocking investments; facilitation services; mobilising private finance; and empowering citizens and communities.  

‘With Europe’s energy resilience more critical than ever, this moment truly matters,’ Paloma Aba Garrote, director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), told the forum. ‘Delivering on our climate and energy goals requires massive investment…Mobilising private finance at scale is essential.’ 

Among the LIFE projects presenting their work at CETIF was ACCE, which develops community energy financing schemes in Belgium, Germany, Croatia, Romania and Spain. These schemes provide grants, loans and equity from public and private sources to community-led solar and wind energy projects. ACCE has supported 50 such initiatives so far — with another 90 expected to enter development in the next two years — attracting up to €40 in private investment for every €1 of public money invested. 

Mastering Net Zero, implemented by Boortmalt, a global malting company headquartered in Belgium, shared its experiences of large-scale industrial decarbonisation and energy transition. The company aims to cut carbon emissions by 42%, among other things, by reducing energy use, which is funded by various innovative mechanisms, including a ‘carbon bank’. Customers can buy malt with verified carbon emission reductions and use the certificates for meeting their own emission targets.  

Also participating were LIFE projects CROSS — which offers technical, legal and financial advice to local authorities in Croatia on improving their buildings’ energy efficiency — and GASLESS which conducts energy audits to estimate the amount of investment required for public buildings in the Piemonte region of Italy. Funding to municipalities is provided through Energy Performance Contracts, which provide off-balance sheet debt funding in return for guaranteed energy savings. 

Other LIFE projects presenting at the conference included ESCALATE and Plan4Cold, both of which help cities plan for more energy efficient heating and cooling. Also attending were the Powering Energy Hub (PEH), FLAG FICET, ACE LIFE, RE-LEAF, GiDomus, EU PEERS and European City Facility projects. 

The projects funded under the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme support the implementation of key European Energy Legislation, such as the  Energy Efficiency Directive and the Renewable Energy Directive. Since 2021, LIFE has mobilised more than €450 million — of which €427 million is provided by the EU — for over 260 projects directly supporting the clean energy transition.   

For more information on Europe’s clean energy transition and success stories from the LIFE Clean Energy Transition sub-programme, see the recent publication Giving LIFE to Europe’s clean energy transition.