Technical Assistance preparation of CLIMA SIPs

Opened

Code: 36507 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-TA-PP-CLIMA-SIP | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The objective is the preparation of CLIMA Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs).

CLIMA SIPs projects

• aim at the implementation of:
  • national Energy and Climate Plans (NECP)24 (pursuant to EU Regulation on the governance of the energy union and climate action (EU)2018/1999);
  • national or regional adaptation strategies or action plans;
  • urban or community-based action plans pioneering the transition to a climate neutral and/or climate resilient society, including climate-neutral cities plans and actions, for instance in the context of the EU Mission ‘Climate neutral and smart cities’ and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans;
  • national, regional or industry-/sector-specific greenhouse gas mitigation strategies or plans or economy roadmaps contributing to climate neutrality;
• at large territorial scale;
• with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders;
• and include a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted plan or strategy.

Therefore the main objective of the TA-PP project is the submission of a full proposal for a CLIMA SIP.

Technical Assistance preparation of ENV SIPs

Opened

Code: 36493 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-TA-PP-ENV-SIP | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The objective is the preparation of ENV Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPs).

ENV SIPs projects

• aim at the implementation of:
  • national or Regional Circular Economy Action Plans, Strategies, Roadmaps or similar, which are officially approved, 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;
  • 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;
  • river basin management plans pursuant to Annex VII to the EU Water Framework Directive, Flood Risk Management Plans pursuant to the EU Floods Directive, Marine Strategies pursuant to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Drought Management Plans as suggested by Article 13 of the Water Framework Directive;
  • air quality plans pursuant to the EU Ambient Air Quality Directive, National Air Pollution Control Programmes pursuant to the EU National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive;
  • noise action plans pursuant to the EU Environmental Noise Directive.
• at large territorial scale;
• with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders;
• and include a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted plan or strategy.

Therefore the main objective of the TA-PP project is the submission of a full proposal for a ENV SIP.

Technical Assistance preparation of SNAPs

Opened

Code: 36490 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-TA-PP-NAT-SNAP | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The objective is the preparation of Strategic Nature Projects (SNAPs).

SNAPS projects

• aim at the implementation of:
  • the 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 and which foresee specific and measurable actions, or targets, with a clear timeline and budget.
• at large territorial scale;
• with the involvement of all concerned stakeholders;
• and include a coordination mechanism for funding supporting complementary measures necessary for the full implementation of the targeted PAF (or other eligible strategy).

Therefore the main objective of the TA-PP project is the submission of a full proposal for a SNAP.

Alleviating household energy poverty in Europe

Opened

Code: 36487 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-ENERPOV | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

In recent years, European households have continued to spend an increasing share of income on energy, leading to higher rates of energy poverty and negatively affecting living conditions, well-being and health. Most recent estimates suggest that 10.6% of Europeans are unable to keep their homes adequately warm. Following surges in energy prices, the number of energy poor households overburdened by their energy costs is on the rise. These higher prices, combined with low incomes and poor energy efficiency of buildings and appliances, are root causes of energy poverty. Moreover, the increased occurrence of extreme summer heatwaves in recent years is further exacerbating the challenges faced by energy poor households and increasing household cooling needs. In addition to its causal multidimensionality, the phenomenon cuts across different policy sectors beyond energy, such as health, housing and social policy, requiring coordinated, holistic efforts at all governance levels, and involving different sectoral actors.

In this context, increasing the uptake of building renovation measures, including cooling solutions, can bring significant long-term benefits to energy poor households, and lead to lower energy bills and improved living conditions. Efforts should focus on offering support to overcome barriers to the uptake of renovation measures in residential multi-apartment buildings requiring coordinated action amongst homeowners and tenants, as well as supporting relevant actors, including public authorities, in designing longer-term strategies and coordination frameworks to mitigate energy poverty at different governance levels, including dedicated financing schemes specifically addressing energy performance improvements for energy poor households.

European City Facility

Opened

Code: 36475 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-EUCF | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

This facility should build on the experiences of the current European City Facility (EUCF) and envisage an appropriate follow-up and scaling up of its fundamental approach. To achieve the ambitious objectives of the EU climate and energy policy, significant investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy are needed to reach the energy transition goals established in the EU energy transition legislative framework (Energy Efficiency Directive – EED, Renewable Energy Directive – RED, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive – EPBD).
Proposals are expected to run a ‘European City Facility’ which offers financial support and related services to European cities, municipalities or their groupings to develop investment concepts for energy efficiency and integrated energy transition investments combining energy efficiency and renewables.

Project Development Assistance for sustainable energy investments

Opened

Code: 36473 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-PDA | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

Project Development Assistance (PDA) will support project promoters in preparing and launching investment pipelines of sustainable energy projects, i.e. energy efficiency and/or renewable energy projects. The call topic aims to provide and build technical, economic and legal skills and expertise for project developers needed for the successful project development and implementation. Activities can include project bundling, technical studies, energy audits, assessing financing options, legal advice, tendering procedure preparation, outreach and engagement etc.

One-Stop-Shops – Integrated services for clean energy transition in buildings

Opened

Code: 36468 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-OSS | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

As highlighted in the European Green Deal’s Renovation Wave initiative and the REPowerEU Plan, there is a pressing need to increase the number of renovated buildings across the EU and to better integrate the transition to efficient heating and cooling based on renewable energy sources as an integral part of building renovations. However, many building owners lack the skills and capacity to design, implement and finance complex and ambitious clean energy transition projects. In addition, many project developers face high implementation costs and limited access to adequate and attractive financing solutions on the market.

This topic aims to support the creation or replication of One Stop Shops (OSS), offering integrated services for the transition to clean energy in private residential buildings, in accordance with the Energy Efficiency Directive (Article 22) and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (Article 18).

Crowding in private finance

Opened

Code: 36464 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-PRIVAFIN | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The topic aims to increase the amount of private finance allocated to energy efficiency and renewable energy sources by establishing innovative financing schemes.

There is a need to set up and roll-out private financing schemes which can be expanded and/or replicated at scale, and contribute to the national strategies to achieve the 2030 energy efficiency targets and the building renovation policy objectives. These schemes have to be adapted to the specificities of energy efficiency investment profiles, as well as those of renewables, in buildings, SMEs, district heating and other relevant sectors.

Supporting district heating and cooling networks

Opened

Code: 36461 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-DHC | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

To advance towards carbon neutrality and to phase out EU dependence on fossil fuels imports, there is an urgent need to reduce fossil fuel consumption for heating and/or cooling purposes. In that context, in particular modern and efficient district heating systems can connect local demand with renewable and waste energy sources, as well as the wider electric and gas grids, thereby contributing to the optimisation of supply and demand across energy carriers.

The REPowerEU Plan, the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED) set out ambitious measures, including the increase of the share of renewable energy and waste heat in district heating systems. District heating and/or cooling operators/owners need to prepare and implement plans so that existing systems fulfil the criteria for “efficient district heating and cooling”, defined in the EED. This will require, among other aspects, the integration of renewable energy (e.g. from solar thermal, ambient energy and geothermal resources) and waste heat. Furthermore, district heating has been identified as a key option for the decarbonisation of the heating sector in countries and regions without a long tradition and experience in the technology. Guidance, recommendations and technical advisory services have already been developed and tested at the EU, national and local levels. Notwithstanding, a large share of existing district heating and cooling systems still overly rely on fossil fuels. Additionally, the switch to renewable energy and waste heat and the development of new systems in emerging markets is hampered, among other factors by limited human, technical and financial capacities. Technical support and enabling frameworks are therefore needed to support the preparation of modernisation and development projects.

BUILD UP Skills – National Platforms on energy efficiency skills for the clean energy transition

Opened

Code: 36459 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-BUILDSKILLS | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The BUILD UP Skills initiative aims to increase the number of skilled professionals (blue- and white-collars) along the construction and renovation value chains. BUILD UP Skills has also engaged public authorities, building owners and tenants, to create awareness about the importance of a skilled workforce. BUILD UP Skills supports the objectives of the EU Pact for Skills, and especially the Large-Scale Partnership for the Construction Ecosystem, which aims to have 30% workers participating in upskilling or reskilling actions annually by 2030, as well as the Renewable Energy skills Large-Scale partnership.

The topic aims to build on the national platforms to increase the number of skilled professionals in Europe by improving awareness and cooperation between key public and private stakeholders, rolling out the needed upskilling and reskilling actions, as well as promoting and attracting more people to energy efficiency professions at national level.

Supporting the clean energy transition of European industry and businesses

Opened

Code: 36455 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-INDUSTRY | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The overall objective of this topic is to support the clean energy transition and decarbonisation of industry by bridging the gap between the demand and supply side of net-zero energy technologies as well as by fostering collaborative approaches among companies operating in physical proximity.

Energy renovation solutions – Making buildings’ renovation faster, deeper, affordable, smarter, service – and data-driven

Opened

Code: 36453 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-BETTERRENO | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

This topic contributes to the goals of the EU Renovation Wave strategy and aims to help implement current and future building policies, notably in view of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) but also considering aspects of the New European Bauhaus initiative.

This topic addresses several areas that are key for the achievement of the ambitious EU targets for the decarbonisation of buildings. It aims to develop and deploy approaches that bring actors, markets, frameworks and innovative solutions together to increase the attractiveness and cost effectiveness of building performance upgrades and to reduce the administrative, logistic and financial burden that still goes along with buildings’ retrofitting. The topic also aims to address the need for qualitative data to make building policy and information instruments more reliable and meaningful, to increase the public acceptance/demand and support robust verification and financing of building renovation and up-grade.

Towards an effective implementation of key legislation in the field of sustainable energy

Opened

Code: 36451 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-POLICY | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

Under the European Green Deal and the REPowerEU Plan, the EU has put in place a whole set of new pieces of climate and energy legislation, including the revised Energy Efficiency Directive, Renewable Energy Directive and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. The revisions make the policy framework for sustainable energy more stringent and ambitious. While the legislative framework offers a good amount of flexibility to Member States to shape the policy measures according to their needs and framework conditions, accurate design, monitoring, projecting and evaluation are essential elements of implementation.

This topic aims to support the implementation of the main pieces of legislation in the field of sustainable energy.

Boosting the clean energy transition in cities and regions

Opened

Code: 36446 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-CET-LOCAL | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

The topic aims to support cities and regional authorities with the necessary capacity and skills to deliver and implement decarbonisation plans and strategies for the clean energy transition, which are critical for the industries, businesses and citizens in their territories.

Proposals are expected to focus on one of the two scopes established below.
The scope addressed should be clearly specified in the proposal.

• Scope A: Implementation of integrated decarbonisation plans
• Scope B: Development of methodologies, templates, blueprints and strategies for the preparation of local heating and cooling plans

Climate Governance and Information

Opened

Code: 36444 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-SAP-CLIMA-GOV | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

LIFE Climate Change Governance and Information supports the development, implementation, monitoring and enforcement of the Union legislation and policy on climate change, contributing to climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. This includes improving governance through enhancing the capacities of public and privateactors and the involvement of civil society.

Activities for the sole purpose of raising the awareness of certain groups are deemed insufficient to achieve these objectives, and therefore should be complemented with concrete measures that facilitate a change in behaviour or practices. Projects which aim to develop tools or studies must include specific and concrete action to implement these tools and studies during the duration of the project.

ERC Advanced Grants

Opened

Code: 36442 | Identifier Code: ERC-2025-ADG | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: European Research Council (ERC) | Start submission calls: 22/05/2025 | End submission calls: 28/08/2025

ERC Advanced Grants are designed to support excellent Principal Investigators at the career stage at which they are already established research leaders with a recognised track record of research achievements. Principal Investigators must demonstrate the ground-breaking nature, ambition and feasibility of their research proposal.

Climate Change Adaptation

Opened

Code: 36438 | Identifier Code: LIFE-2025-SAP-CLIMA-CCA | Programme name: 10710 | Start submission calls: 24/04/2025 | End submission calls: 23/09/2025

Projects under this strand should help to achieve the long-term vision of the new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change that, in 2050, the EU will be a climate-resilient society which is fully adapted to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Projects should help to reinforce adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability, in line with the Paris Agreement and the European Climate Law.

European Excellence Initiative (EEI)

Opened

Code: 36435 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-01-ACCESS-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 08/05/2025 | End submission calls: 20/11/2025

The European Excellence Initiative in its widening dimension aims to raise excellence in science and in knowledge valorisation of Europe’s universities through cooperation. The action will engage with universities and empower them further to be actors of change in R&I. Cooperation of universities will be supported to create critical R&I mass and pursue specific objectives that contribute to accelerating key R&I areas of own choice with strategic relevance for the European Union.

Implementing co-funded action plans for connected regional innovation valleys in widening countries

Opened

Code: 36432 | Identifier Code: HORIZON-WIDERA-2025-05-ACCESS-01 | Programme name: 2939 | Sub-program: Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (2021-2027) | Start submission calls: 14/05/2025 | End submission calls: 15/10/2025

The aim of this topic is to foster the creation of efficient, open, inclusive and interconnected European innovation ecosystems in line with the New European Innovation Agenda, notably in thematic/technological areas (including deep tech) that will be critical for EU value chains. It will also contribute to the twin green and digital transition and a resilient society, and to the net-zero objective, particularly in the areas of reducing reliance on the fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence), improving healthcare, and achieving circularity.

Preparatory Actions – European Narratives Observatory to fight Disinformation – Detecting influence campaigns and boosting societal resilience

Opened

Code: 36430 | Identifier Code: Call CNECT/2024/1917891 | Programme name: 2280 | Start submission calls: 30/04/2025 | End submission calls: 16/06/2025

The aim of this Call for Proposals is to further build on the results of successful EU projects in the field of narrative analysis and monitoring, notably on the Narratives Observatory Combatting Disinformation in Europe Systemically (NODES), the Predictive Research On Misinformation & Propagation Trajectories (PROMPT) project, as well as the Vera.AI and AI4Trust projects. To further advance the state of the art in the understanding of the impact of narratives on society, as well as the development of concrete methodologies, tools and approaches to monitor and engage with them, this call for proposals will fund two projects.

1. The first one will focus on the monitoring of narratives and the detection of malicious campaigns in the EU’s information space.
2. The second will focus on assessing the concrete impact that online disinformation has on citizens and propose and implement meaningful strategies to reduce societal polarisation.