Foreword

LIFE ENVIRONMENT |LIFE and Climate CHANGE mitigationForewordClimate change is one of the major global challenges. Science has shown that recentclimate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems. The EuropeanUnion is at the forefront of global efforts to address this challenge.Photo: European CommissionMiguel Arias CañeteEU Commissioner forClimate Action and EnergyThe transition to a low-carbon society is an essential underpinning of Europe 2020 – Europe’sgrowth strategy. At the heart of the flagship initiative “resource-efficient Europe” is the 2050Roadmap for moving to a competitive low-carbon economy. The EU is also contributing proactivelyto the conclusion of an ambitious global climate agreement in 2015.Most recently, EU leaders agreed on a new integrated climate change and energy framework for2030. This sets more stringent targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, increaseduse of renewables and greater energy-efficiency. These will be combined with a revision of theEU Emissions Trading System and more reliable and transparent governance to ensure climatechange mitigation targets are met.With regards to funding, 20% of the EU budget for 2014-2020 is dedicated to climate action.This includes €864 million that the new LIFE sub-programme for Climate Action will make availableover seven years for projects targeting both mitigation and adaptation efforts.Such funding streams will be supported by new collaborative initiatives with the European InvestmentBank, such as the Private Finance for Energy Efficiency (PF4EE), using public money toleverage significant private investment in favour of climate action.Since 1992, the LIFE programme has mobilised more than €600 million in favour of climatechange mitigation. As this publication shows, in so doing LIFE has already contributed to theshift towards a resource efficient, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy by demonstratingeffective, cost effective and inclusive ways of mitigating the effects of climate change across arange of key sectors, including energy, agriculture, transport and enterprise.One of LIFE’s particular strengths is its ability to support practical and replicable solutions developedat local level, whether the individual municipality or the individual farm. The new LIFEClimate Action sub-programme seeks to build on this, increasing the public and private sector’scapacity to integrate and mainstream climate objectives into everyday practice, as well as supportingbetter climate governance at all levels.It is clear that the LIFE programme has been, and will continue to be, an important source offunding for actions that help us achieve the goal of creating a resilient and low-emission energyunion with a forward-looking climate change policy.1